TY - JOUR
T1 - Comment on "discovery of a tetracontinuous, aqueous lyotropic network phase with unusual 3D-hexagonal symmetry" by M. Mahanthappa, G. Sorenson and A. Schmitt
AU - Fischer, Michael G.
AU - Hyde, Stephen T.
AU - Schröder-Turk, Gerd E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015.
PY - 2015/2/14
Y1 - 2015/2/14
N2 - The article by Sorenson et al. (Soft Matter10, 8229, 2014) reports a novel phase formed by gemini surfactants in water, of symmetry P63/mcm and based on a triple intergrowth of three identical degree-three networks, known as 3etc(193). This phase is the first lyotropic liquid crystalline phase based on the intergrowth of a triplet of network- or labyrinth-like hydrophobic domains. We provide here results from self-consistent field theory that demonstrate that the same morphology is almost stable in standard AB diblock copolymer melts; at the phase transition between the double gyroid phase and the hexagonal columnar phase, the 3etc(193) morphology only incurs a marginal free energy penalty compared to the equilibrium phases. Interestingly, the ratio of lattice parameters c/a = 0.955 of the 3etc(193) as a diblock morphology is very close to that of the gemini surfactant phase and of the related IBN-9 mesoporous silicate phase (Han et al., Nat. Chem.1, 123, 2009). Based on the combination of these results, we hypothesise that the 3etc(193) morphology is likely a generic phase in soft materials, rather than an oddity.
AB - The article by Sorenson et al. (Soft Matter10, 8229, 2014) reports a novel phase formed by gemini surfactants in water, of symmetry P63/mcm and based on a triple intergrowth of three identical degree-three networks, known as 3etc(193). This phase is the first lyotropic liquid crystalline phase based on the intergrowth of a triplet of network- or labyrinth-like hydrophobic domains. We provide here results from self-consistent field theory that demonstrate that the same morphology is almost stable in standard AB diblock copolymer melts; at the phase transition between the double gyroid phase and the hexagonal columnar phase, the 3etc(193) morphology only incurs a marginal free energy penalty compared to the equilibrium phases. Interestingly, the ratio of lattice parameters c/a = 0.955 of the 3etc(193) as a diblock morphology is very close to that of the gemini surfactant phase and of the related IBN-9 mesoporous silicate phase (Han et al., Nat. Chem.1, 123, 2009). Based on the combination of these results, we hypothesise that the 3etc(193) morphology is likely a generic phase in soft materials, rather than an oddity.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84922161213&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1039/c4sm01932f
DO - 10.1039/c4sm01932f
M3 - Short survey
SN - 1744-683X
VL - 11
SP - 1226
EP - 1227
JO - Soft Matter
JF - Soft Matter
IS - 6
ER -