Recent developments in theoretical and experimental studies of amphiphilic lyotropic ‘intermediate’ mesophase formation are summarized. For the purposes of the review, we consider intermediate mesophases to be self-assemblies with novel geometries and topologies, excluding lamellar, bicontinuous sponge, columnar (hexagonal) and micellar mesophases. Intermediates include novel branched bilayer t...

The lamellar phase of a lyotropic solution in a confined geometry is investigated with a surface force apparatus (SFA). The measured interaction between the two SFA surfaces immersed in the mesophase is periodic, oscillatory, decaying, and discontinuous. A model is developed to account for the specific confining geometry of the SFA It is based on an array of concentric dislocation loops that al...

In confined flows of initially homogenous nematic polymers, a key factor in the evolution of mesostructure is the likely timescale, denoted by ÆtæA, on which monodomain mesophase attracting states, denoted by A, are resonated by the imposed flow. These monodomain modes (flow-aligning (FA), logrolling (LR), tumbling Xiaoyu Zheng M. Gregory Forest Ruhai Zhou Qi Wang Likelihood and expected-time s...

für Naturforschung in cooperation with the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Dieses Werk wurde im Jahr 2013 vom Verlag Zeitschrift für Naturforschung in Zusammenarbeit mit der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V. digitalisiert und unter folgender Lizenz veröffentlicht: Creative Commons Namen...

We present a review of experimental data on the nonlinear optical properties of thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystals probed by the Z-scan technique. Depending on the time scale, different processes originate a nonlinear optical response. Particularly, at nanosecond range, the physical processes associated with the nonlinear response in thermotropics are not completely understood. In lyotr...

We investigate a new screwlike liquid-crystalline ordering in solutions of helical biopolymers and its influence on the state of individual molecules. In the resulting mesophase translational and rotational motions of molecules are coupled in screw fluctuations. We show that in contrast to the case of conventional chiral liquid crystals the elastic distortion does not twist the screw order but ...

A series of esters of 2,3,6,7-tetrakis(hexyloxy)dibenzo[a,c]phenazine-11-carboxylic acid was prepared in order to probe the effects of the ester groups on the liquid crystalline behavior. These compounds exhibit columnar hexagonal phases over broad temperature ranges. Variations in chain length, branching, terminal groups, and the presence of cyclic groups were found to modify transition temper...

Membrane proteins have been reconstituted on lipid bilayers with zero mean-curvature (cubic phases or vesicles). Here we show that reconstitution of pore-forming membrane proteins can also occur on highly curved lipidic bilayers of reverse hexagonal mesophases, for which the mean-curvature is significantly different from zero. We further show that the membrane protein provides unique topologica...

Highly conductive electrolyte materials are an essential part of many electrochemical systems, such as fuel cells, solar cells, batteries, electrochromic devices, and next-generation renewable-energy sources. The growing diversity in batteries and electrochemical cells increases the demand for novel electrolyte materials. For instance, in solar-cell applications, an electrolyte material with hi...