Liquid crystal formation of small-molecule surfactants

3 Liquid Crystal Formation of Small-Molecule Surfactants 

The third type of liquid crystal structure is the cubic phase, of which there are two distinct classes. Unlike the well-characterized structures of the lamellar and hexagonal phases, the cubic structures have yet to be fully elucidated. The cubic phases are labelled U, U and Vj, V2, the subscripts 1 and 2 again corresponding to normal and reversed structures. Normal (Ii) and reversed (U) cubic phases simply consist of smalt, often spherical micelles arranged in various arrays. One very common 

All the common mesophases are viscous, with viscosity usually increasing in the order  

The range covered is enormous. Lamellar phases often flow under gravity, while the Ii phase can be so rigid that it is difficult to insert a spatula into the material. A wide variety of other mesophases can occasionally occur. Some have yet to be fully identified and their 

---