Sponge phases micelles

Texter J, Antalek B and Williams A J 1997 Reverse micelle to sponge phase transition J. Chem. Phys. 106 7869-72... 

The sponge phase, like the lamellar phase, is usually found to be stable throughout the moderate concentration range [219]. At high dilution of the system, however, the phase behavior depends on the constituents of the studied systems. In some cases, the L3 phase simply phase-separates at high dilution and expels a very dilute dispersion of micelles... 

Keywords lipid-water phases liquid crystals swelling sponge phase small-angle X-ray scattering SANS micelles glycerol monooleate octyl glucoside... 

Surfactant micelles and bilayers are the building blocks of most self-assembly structures. One can divide the phase structures into two main groups [1) (1) those that are built of limited or discrete self-assemblies, which may be characterized roughly as spherical, prolate or cylindrical. (2) Infinite or unlimited self-assemblies whereby the aggregates are connected over macroscopic distances in one, two or three dimensions. The hexagonal phase (see below) is an example of onedimensional continuity, the lamellar phase of two-dimensional continuity, whereas the bicontinuous cubic phase and the sponge phase (see later) are examples of three-dimensional continuity. Figure 3.8 illustrates these two types schematically. 

The variational parameter is now the volume fraction of water The main difference of interpretation is that any broken-symmetry state (t/> 1/2) must be interpreted, not as a single phase, but a coexisting symmetric pair of states related by the interchange of oil and water. Thus the region of coexistence between the symmetric sponge phase and a dilute phase (small vesicles or micelles) becomes a... 

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