Unexpected observation of an intermediate hexagonal phase upon fluid-to-gel transition: SDS self-assembly in glycerol

Phase and self-assembly transition induced by glycerol–borax interaction in an aqueous surfactant two-phase system†

We report that the phase and self-assembly transition in an aqueous surfactant two-phase (ASTP) system can be induced by a small amount of glycerol. The ASTP was formed from a cationic Gemini surfactant, C12C6C12(Et), and an anionic surfactant, sodium laureate (SL), in a borax solution. Upon addition of 0.3–2 vol% glycerol to the system, the ASTP system underwent a striking phase transition: th...

Linking self-assembly, rheology, and gel transition in attractive colloids

Triangular and Hexagonal Tile Self-Assembly Systems Triangular and Hexagonal Tile Self-Assembly Systems

We discuss theoretical aspects of the self-assembly of triangular tiles, in particular, right triangular tiles and equilateral triangular tiles, and the self-assembly of hexagonal tiles. Contrary to intuition, we show that triangular tile assembly systems and square tile assembly systems cannot be simulated by each other in a non-trivial way. More precisely, there exists a square tile assembly ...

Materials science of the gel to fluid phase transition in a supported phospholipid bilayer.

We report the results of in situ AFM measurements examining the phase transition of bilayers formed from the zwitterionic phospholipid, DMPC, 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, supported on mica. The images show that the fluid to gel phase transition process features substantial tearing of the bilayer due to the density change between the two phases. The gel to fluid transition is str...

Triangular and Hexagonal Tile Self-assembly Systems

We discuss theoretical aspects of the self-assembly of triangular tiles, in particular, right triangular tiles and equilateral triangular tiles, and the self-assembly of hexagonal tiles. We show that triangular tile assembly systems and square tile assembly systems cannot be simulated by each other in a non-trivial way. More precisely, there exists a deterministic square (hexagonal) tile assemb...