Swollen lamellar phases confined in capillarylike pores.
Structure and mechanical properties of swollen lamellar phases confined in square-base pipes are studied in a mesoscopic lattice model for oil-water-surfactant mixtures. Structure depends crucially on a thermodynamic state and is quite different far and close to the coexistence with a uniform phase. Lamellar domains with different orientations of lamellas are formed in most cases, and the mechanics is determined mainly by domain-wall energies. Shift of phase equilibria in square-base pipes compared to the bulk is just opposite to the shift in slits. We find capillary delamellarization for short-period and for swollen phases, for hydrophilic and for neutral external surfaces.
Max-Planck-Institut für Metallforschung, Heisenbergstrasse 3, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
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M
Tasinkevych
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Ciach