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Counterion-Dependent Access to Low-Symmetry Lyotropic Sphere Packings of Ionic Surfactant Micelles

Journal Article · · Langmuir

The water-driven self-assembly of homologous dianionic surfactants into lyotropic liquid crystals (LLCs) is investigated, with a focus on understanding how surfactant headgroup and counterion identities guide supramolecular spherical mesophase selection. Using temperature-dependent small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), we demonstrate that 2-alkylmalonate surfactants (CnMal-M2) with n = 8 (octyl) or 10 (decyl) and M = K+, Cs+, or (CH3)4N+ form both simple and complex micelle packings. Observed spherical morphologies include body-centered cubic (BCC), hexagonally closest-packed (HCP), and tetrahedrally closest-packed Frank–Kasper (FK) A15 and σ phases (Pm3(–)n and P42/mnm symmetries, respectively). Previously observed in only one other minimally hydrated surfactant, the σ phase is a rare LLC morphology comprising a low-symmetry unit cell containing 30 sub-2-nm quasispherical micelles, each of which belongs to one of five symmetry-equivalent classes with discrete aggregation numbers. Temperature versus water concentration phase maps for CnMal-M2 LLCs reveal that σ-phase formation depends sensitively on the size and polarizability of the surfactant counterion and the length of the surfactant alkyl tail. Furthermore, these observations are rationalized in terms of a delicate interplay between global packing symmetry and local particle symmetry, and the extent to which counterion–headgroup correlations enforce the latter structures in these LLC phases.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Science Foundation
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-06CH11357
OSTI ID:
1478083
Journal Information:
Langmuir, Journal Name: Langmuir Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 34; ISSN 0743-7463
Publisher:
American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
ENGLISH

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Cited By (2)

Path-Dependent Preparation of Complex Micelle Packings of a Hydrated Diblock Oligomer journal February 2019
Frank–Kasper Phases Identified in PDMS‐ b ‐PTFEA Copolymers with High Conformational Asymmetry journal July 2019

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