Abstract
Triphilic star-polyphiles are short-chain oligomeric molecules with a radial arrangement of hydrophilic, hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon chains linked to a common centre. They form a number of liquid crystalline structures when mixed with water. In this contribution we focus on a hexagonal liquid crystalline mesophase found in star-polyphiles as compared to the corresponding double-chain surfactant to determine whether the hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon chains are in fact demixed in these star-polyphile systems, or whether both hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon chains are miscible, leading to a single hydrophobic domain, making the star-polyphile effectively amphiphilic. We report SANS contrast variation data that are compatible only with the presence of three distinct immiscible domains within this hexagonal mesophase, confirming that these star-polyphile liquid crystals are indeed hydrophilic/oleophilic/fluorophilic 3-phase systems. Quantitative comparison with scattering simulations shows that the experimental data are in very good agreement with an underlying 2D columnar (12.6.4) tiling. As in a conventional amphiphilic hexagonal mesophase, the hexagonally packed water channels (dodecagonal prismatic domains) are embedded in a hydrophobic matrix, but that matrix is split into oleophilic hexagonal prismatic domains and fluorophilic quadrangular prismatic domains.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| Pages (from-to) | 3139-3152 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| ISSN | 1463-9076 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 28 Feb 2011 |
Keywords
- Fluorocarbons
- Hydrocarbons
- Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
- Liquid Crystals
- Neutron Diffraction
- Scattering, Small Angle
- Water
- X-Ray Diffraction