Lyotropic Liquid Crystals in Binary Systems N-Alkyl Glycosides/Water*

The formation of lyotropic mesophases (liquid crystals) in four binary systems n-alkyl glycosides/water was examined in dependence on surfactant concentration, temperature and the chain lengths (alkyl = heptyl, octyl, nonyl, decyl). The binary phase diagrams were established and the enthalpies of phase transitions were measured. The following phase transitions were detected by texture observation and calorimetry: hexagonal phase H, lamellar phase L, cubic phase Q, gel phase G and crystalline phase C. The positions of the corresponding regions of these phases in the phase diagram were determined. Sequence of phases and the localization of the phase regions were depended on the chain length of the alkyl group. So in the binary system n-decyl-β-D-glucoside/water the H-phase was not observed.