Bell-shaped sol–gel–sol conversions in pH-responsive worm-based nanostructured fluid

Abstract

A pH-switchable worm system was fabricated by simply mixing two non-surface-active compounds, N-(3-(dimethylamino)propyl)palmitamide (PMA) and citric acid (HCA), at a molar ratio of 3 : 1. Such a nanostructured fluid exhibits bell-shaped sol-gel-sol transitions with sequential pH variation, reflecting continuous structural transformations from sphere to worm to no aggregates.