Dynamical nature of least stable fluctuation modes of lamellar structure observed in a nonionic surfactant/water system

Self-Assembly of Unusually Stable Thermotropic Network Phases by Cellobiose-Based Guerbet Glycolipids

Bicontinuous thermotropic liquid crystal (LC) materials, e.g., double gyroid (DG) phases, have garnered significant attention due to the potential utility of their 3D network structures in wide-ranging applications. However, the utility of these materials is significantly constrained by the lack of robust molecular design rules for shape-filling amphiphiles that spontaneously adopt the saddle curvatures required to access these useful supramolecular assemblies. Toward this aim, we synthesized anomerically pure Guerbet-type glycolipids bearing cellobiose head groups and branched alkyl tails and studied their thermotropic LC self-assembly. Using a combination of differential scanning calorimetry, polarized optical microscopy, and small-angle X-ray scattering, our studies demonstrate that Guerbet cellobiosides exhibit a strong propensity to self-assemble into DG morphologies over wide thermotropic phase windows. The stabilities of these assemblies sensitively depend on the branched alkyl tail structure and the anomeric configuration of the glycolipid in a previously unrecognized manner. Complementary molecular simulations furnish detailed insights into the observed self-assembly characteristics, thus unveiling molecular motifs that foster network phase self-assembly that will enable future designs and applications of network LC materials.

Controlling the thermodynamic stability of intermediate phases in a cationic-amphiphile-water system with strongly binding counterions

We have studied the influence of two structurally isomeric organic salts, namely, 2-sodium-3-hydroxy naphthoate (SHN) and 1-sodium-2-hydroxy naphthoate (SHN1), on the phase behavior of concentrated aqueous solutions of the cationic surfactant cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC). Partial phase diagrams of the two systems have been constructed using polarizing optical microscopy and x-ray diffraction techniques. A variety of intermediate phases is seen in both systems for a range of salt concentrations. The CPC-SHN-water system exhibits the rhombohedral and tetragonal mesh phases in addition to the random mesh phase, whereas the CPC-SHN1-water system shows only the tetragonal and random mesh phases. The CPC-SHN-water system also exhibits two nematic phases consisting of cylindrical and disk-like micelles at relatively low and high salt concentrations, respectively. These results show that the concentration of the strongly bound counterion provided by the organic salt can be used as a control parameter to tune the stability of different intermediate phases in amphiphile-water systems.

Structure of mesh phases in cationic surfactant systems with strongly bound counterions: influence of the surfactant headgroup and the counterion

We have studied the phase behavior of concentrated aqueous solutions of cetylpyridinium bromide (CPB) and sodium 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoate (SHN) using X-ray diffraction and polarizing optical microscopy. The phase behavior of this system is found to be very similar to that of the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-SHN-water system, reported by us recently (Ghosh, S. K., et al. Langmuir, 2007, 23, 3606), but with the important difference that the mesh-like aggregates in the present system have square symmetry, instead of the hexagonal symmetry seen in the earlier case. A random mesh phase without long-range correlations of the in-plane structure, as well as an ordered mesh phase, where the mesh-like aggregates lock into a three-dimensional lattice, are observed, as in the CTAB-SHN-water system. The mesh-like aggregates do not form when the hydroxynaphthoate counterion is replaced by either salicylate or tosylate, which are also known to bind strongly to the surfactant micelle. Instead, the phase behavior of these ternary mixtures is akin to that of the CPB-water binary system; the only liquid crystalline phase observed being the hexagonal phase made up of cylindrical micelles. These results show the extreme sensitivity of the structure and stability of mesh phases to subtle changes in the interheadgroup interactions.

Kinetic pathway to double-gyroid structure

We have investigated the structural development during order-order transitions to the double-gyroid (DG) phase of nonionic surfactant/water systems based on two-dimensional small-angle x-ray scattering patterns from highly oriented ordered mesophases. The lamellar (L) to DG transition proceeds through two intermediate structures, a fluctuating perforated layer structure having ABAB stacking and a hexagonal perforated lamellar structure with ABCABC stacking (HPLABC). For a hexagonally packed cylinder (H) to DG transition, we also observed the HPLABC structure as the intermediate phase, thus the HPLABC is an entrance structure for the DG phase. The hexagonal perforated lamellar (HPL) structure consists of hexagonally packed holes surrounded by the planar tripods, and the transition from HPL structure to the DG phase proceeds by rotation of the dihedral angle of connected tripods. A geometrical consideration shows that large deformations of HPL planes are necessary to form the DG structure from the HPLABC structure, whereas the transition from a HPL structure with ABAB stacking (HPLAB) to the DG structure is straightforward. In spite of the topological constraints, the HPLABC structure is observed in the kinetic pathway to the DG structure.

Mechanism of the transition between lamellar and gyroid phases formed by a diblock copolymer in aqueous solution

The mechanism of the transition from a lamellar phase to a gyroid phase in an aqueous solution of a diblock copolymer has been studied by time-resolved synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering. The transition occurs via a metastable perforated lamellar structure. The perforations initially have liquidlike ordering before developing hexagonal packing. The transient phase of irregularly perforated layers is revealed by the development of diffuse scattering peaks, just below the Bragg peaks of the lamellar structure. The diffuse scattering is modeled by Monte Carlo simulations of perforated layers. Following the formation of perforations, Bragg peaks characteristic of a hexagonal structure signal an ordering into a hexagonal lattice (with the concomitant loss of diffuse scattering). Computer simulations based on a dynamic density functional model reproduce these features. The hexagonal perforated lamellar phase is rapidly replaced by the gyroid phase. The domain spacing of the gyroid phase is larger than that of the perforated lamellar structure. The perforated lamellar and gyroid phases coexist for a defined period. The reverse transition from gyroid to lamellae occurs directly, with no transient or metastable intermediates.