Phase Diagrams of Stoichiometric Polyelectrolyte−Surfactant Complexes

Complexation of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes and surfactants in aqueous solutions. A review

“…In particular, the sequence cubic (Pm3n) N hexagonal N lamellar is observed by decreasing the water content. When the surfactant concentration is increased, or when water is removed from the precipitate [52], a similar evolution is seen. Note that surfactant counter-ions sometimes affect the structure of the concentrated phases, and different phases can be found if these counter-ions are not fully exchanged with those of the polymer [58].…”

Nonstoichiometric polymer-surfactant complexes obtained in a lamellar lyotropic medium

“…As a consequence of these two directing forces, PSCs usually present long-range order showing different types of organized structures, namely, lamellar [7,8], cubic [9,10], or hexagonal [11]. The type of structures formed depends on factors such as the global composition [12], the length of the surfactant alkyl chain [13], the length of the polymer chain [14], the charge density of the polyelectrolyte [15], or the presence of cosurfactants [16]. The composition of these complexes is usually assumed to be stoichiometric with equal amounts of the two species of opposite charge [3,6,[17][18][19], but in most of the systems studied, their detailed stoichiometry has not been characterized, and in a few cases, nonstoichiometric complexes have also been formed [20,21].…”

Phase behavior of gemini surfactant hexylene-1,6-bis(dodecyldimethylammonium bromide) and polyelectrolyte NaPAA

“…Leonard and Strey [16] observed a phase transition from cubic to hexagonally closepacked cylinders then to lamellar with decreasing H 2 O content in self-assembled poly[(acrylate)-co-acrylamide]-cetyltrimethylammonium complexes, which was attributed to the counterion release and the competition between packing constraint and spontaneous curvature. Also, experimental studies have revealed that length of surfactant alkyl chain [9,17], addition of salt, [11,18] cosolute, [18] and charge density of polyelectrolyte [19,20] all play a substantially important role in the gel phase behavior.…”