Disintegration of Surfactant Micelles at Metal-Water Interfaces Promotes their Strong Adsorption

We have studied adsorption behavior of surfactant micelles at metal-water interfaces via fully atomistic simulations. We show that micelles experience a free energy barrier to adsorption. Near the metal surface, surfactant molecules in the micelles slowly rearrange leading to complete disintegration of the micelles. Disintegration of the micelles results in much stronger adsorption. After the disintegration, surfactant molecules adsorb by lying flat on the metal surface. By simulating adsorption of micelles treated as rigid bodies, we show that when the micelles remain intact, they have a weak tendency to adsorb.