Landau model for self-assembly and liquid crystal formation in surfactant solutions

Abstract

A new universal approach to the description of the formation of supramolecular structures in surfactant solutions based on the Landau theory of phase transitions with coupled order parameters is proposed. It is shown that the specific interaction of amphiphiles with random inhomogeneities of a solvent (in water/oil/surfactant mixtures) may lead to a particular type of phase transition: formation of the locally inhomogeneous isotropic phase (microemulsion) or lyotropic liquid-crystalline phases. The topology of the phase diagram is discussed.