A hydrogelator derived from polymerisable amphiphilic octadecyl maleamic acid and its potential as a reactor in aqueous copolymerisation reactions.

Octadecyl maleamic acid, a polymerisable surfactant, on coversion to its sodium salt, is shown to exhibit hydrogelation phenomenon. This hydrogelator, consisting of a lamellar structure is further shown to act as an organized reactor for controlled polymerisation reactions in order to generate copolymers with a narrow weight and size distribution.