Abstract
The solution behavior of some ions resembles that of surfactants. The aim of this review is to contextualize the behavior of ions with uneven structure and/or hydration shell, such as nanoions, intrinsically amphiphilic ions, and ions with irregular chemical composition.
Hints regarding ionspecificity and other peculiar features of less conventional ions are discussed. Such ions can exhibit ion pairing and like-charge self-assembly, thus resembling amphiphilic molecules.
Irregular ions and nanoions are in some cases surface active that reminds classical surfactants. Coassembly of several ions with synthetic polymers and proteins cannot be described by simple salting-in and host-guest models pointing to the approach, in which ions are not used as solutes but as building nanoblocks.