Experimental confirmation of transformation pathways between inverse double diamond and gyroid cubic phases

Annela M. Seddon, James Hallett, Charlotte Beddoes, Tomás S. Plivelic, Adam M. Squires

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22 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

A macroscopically oriented double diamond inverse bicontinuous cubic phase (QIID) of the lipid glycerol monooleate is reversibly converted into a gyroid phase (QIIG). The initial QIID phase is prepared in the form of a film coating the inside of a capillary, deposited under flow, which produces a sample uniaxially oriented with a ⟨110⟩ axis parallel to the symmetry axis of the sample. A transformation is induced by replacing the water within the capillary tube with a solution of poly(ethylene glycol), which draws water out of the QIID sample by osmotic stress. This converts the QIID phase into a QIIG phase with two coexisting orientations, with the ⟨100⟩ and ⟨111⟩ axes parallel to the symmetry axis, as demonstrated by small-angle X-ray scattering. The process can then be reversed, to recover the initial orientation of QIID phase. The epitaxial relation between the two oriented mesophases is consistent with topology-preserving geometric pathways that have previously been hypothesized for the transformation. Furthermore, this has implications for the production of macroscopically oriented QIIG phases, in particular with applications as nanomaterial templates.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5705-5710
JournalLangmuir
Volume30
Issue number20
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 May 2014

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