Structure of gyroid mesophase formed by monodendrons with fluorinated alkyl tails

The structure of a three-dimensional mesophase has been studied by the methods of small-angle X-ray diffraction and reconstruction of electron-density maps of the cubic lattice. In the oriented samples based on monodendrons with partially fluorinated alkyl tails, this mesophase has been shown to coexist with a two-dimensional columnar phase through a wide temperature interval. Epitaxial relationships between (10) planes of the hexagonal lattice and (211) planes of the cubic lattices lead to the ten-point pattern of azimuthal intensity distribution for the first X-ray 211 reflection and to the six-point intensity distribution for the second 220 reflection. The observed 12-point pattern of the 220 reflection is due to the presence of twin “crystallites” of the three-dimensional phase, and their [110] axis is parallel to the axis of cylinders in the columnar phase. The reconstructed electron-density maps show that the regions with increased electron density, which are composed of fluorinated aliphatic tails, form a bicontinuous gyroid structure.