In this work we investigated phase diagrams of CTAB and different polar solvents such as water, formamide, and glycerol in order to compare the effects of a nonaqueous solvent on the existence of intermediate phases. A small-angle X-ray scattering setup was used to observe the diffraction peak corresponding to the high values of the phase parameters and their transformations. We developed a method for rapid and continuous observation of the surfactant-solvent system over their transitions from the micellar to the lamellar phase. The following sequence of intermediate phases was identified in the CTAB/water system: hexagonal-monoclinic (close to a centered rectangular phase)-cubic-lamellar. Comparison with the results from CTAB/formamide and CTAB/glycerol systems showed the same sequence (except that the monoclinic phase existence was only found with water), but the existence regions of these phases are different and the parameters are smaller.

In this work we investigate lyotropic phases in different sugar-based surfactantlwater systems. Studies are carried out with the (N-alky1amino)-1-deoxylactitols (CS, C10, CIZ) and P-dodecyl maltoside. Liquid crystal phases are detected and lattice parameters determined by X-ray diffraction. The phases observed are the normal phases found in binary ionic or nonionic surfactantlwater systems. Schematic diagrams show the sequences of the lyotropic phases formed by these disaccharide surfactants. The difference in behavior is accounted for by the difference in chain length, hydrophilic ability, and steric hindrance of the polar head. IntroductionSurfactants derived from sugars form a large class of amphiphiles, which are currently receiving attention in view of their excellent biocompatibility and biodegradabi1ity.l Among the numerous applications of these compounds mention can be made of extraction and crystallization of membrane proteins2 and emulsification of substrates for enzymatic reaction^.^The first studies on the associative properties of these compounds were devoted to the solid-solid phase transitions and the liquid crystal properties of alkyl derivatives of carbohydrates in which the alkyl chain contained generally a t least eight carbon a t o m~.~-l~ Micellization of compounds of this family has been the subject of a few studies.13-15 More recently the surface properties of monolayers and the forces between bilayers of gangliosides

From the solution of the creeping-flow equations, the drag force on a sphere becomes infinite when the gap between the sphere and a smooth wall vanishes at constant velocity, so that if the sphere is displaced towards the wall with a constant applied force, contact theoretically may not occur. Physically, the drag is finite for various reasons, one being the particle and wall roughness. Then, for vanishing gap, even though some layers of fluid molecules may be left between the particle and wall roughness peaks, conventionally it may be said that contact occurs. In this paper, we consider the example of a smooth sphere moving towards a rough wall. The roughness considered here consists of parallel periodic wedges, the wavelength of which is small compared with the sphere radius. This problem is considered both experimentally and theoretically. The motion of a millimetre size bead settling towards a corrugated horizontal wall in a viscous oil is measured with laser interferometry giving an accuracy on the displacement of 0.1 $\mu$m. Several wedge-shaped walls were used, with various wavelengths and wedge angles.From the results, it is observed that the velocity of the sphere is, except for small gaps, similar to that towards a smooth plane that is shifted down from the top of corrugations. Indeed, earlier theories for a shear flow along a corrugated wall found such an equivalent smooth plane. These theories are revisited here. The creeping flow is calculated as a series in the slope of the roughness grooves. The cases of a flow along and across the grooves are considered separately. The shift is larger in the former case. Slightly flattened tops of the wedges used in experiments are also considered in the calculations. It is then demonstrated that the effective shift for the sphere motion is the average of the shifts for shear flows in the two perpendicular directions. A good agreement is found between theory and experiment.

A fast method for the analysis of the phase diagrams of lyotropic compounds was employed to study the formation of liquid crystals from two surfactants, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and cetylpyridinium bromide (CPBr) in water. Studies were also carried out in the protic solvents, glycerol (G), formamide (FA), ethylene glycol (EG), and N-methylformamide (NMF), and the aprotic solvents, dimethylformamide (DMF) and N-methylsydnone (NMS). While the normal succession of ordered phases appeared to be governed by geometric constraints of interface curvature, the differences in behavior were accounted for by the differences in cohesion energy of the solvents and the different natures of the polar heads of the two surfactants. In DMF, a solvent with low cohesion energy, both surfactants showed only lamellar phases, whereas CPBr with a highly delocalized charge on the polar head displayed a succession of conventional phases in all the other solvents. CTAB with a localized charge formed only lamellar phases in NMF and NMS. This behavior was interpreted as resulting from headgroup solvation due to dipoledipole interactions or hydrogen bonding. The particular case of NMS was accounted for by better stacking between the planar molecules of this solvent and the pyridinium rings of CPBr.