A surfactant Co(III) chelate containing two tridentate ligands

A new surfactant Co(III) chelate, trans-(N-dodecyliminodiacetato)(diethylenetriamine)cobalt(III) chloride (trans-2), which contains two tridentate ligands, N-dodecyliminodiacetic acid and diethylenetriamine, was prepared and characterized. Its structure was established by 1H and 13C NMR, IR, and UV–vis spectroscopy. The Krafft temperature of trans-2 is <23 °C, and its critical aggregation concentration in H2O at 23 °C is (1.3 ± 0.1) × 10−3 M. By cryo-etch high resolution scanning electron microscopy, trans-2 forms aggregates in H2O with sizes of up to 400 nm.