SELF ASSEMBLED POLYMER-SURFACTANT SYSTEMS

The influence of noncharged and especially charged polymers on structure formation in mesoscopic organized surfactant/alcohol/water systems is investigated. Cationic polyelectrolytes can be incorporated into the liquid crystalline SDS/decanol/water system keeping up the lamellar phase.

The “usual” swelling of the bilayer can suppressed and an adsorption of the polycation at the head groups of the SDS bilayer is assumed. The incorporation of poly-anions is more complicated and macroscopic phase separation can be observed. A characteristic feature of a system with two polymers is the appearance of two coexisting lamellar phases, i. e. a swellable and non-swellable one.

In the SDS/pentanol/water/xylene system the addition of a hydrophobic polymer can induce the formation of a bicontinuous phase channel.

Surprisingly, the addition of a cationic polyelectrolyte to the SDS based w/o-microemulsion does not lead to a macroscopic phase separation.