High pressure phase diagrams of two homologous series of Inotropics

Abstract

The hexagonal-isotropic transition is studied in two homologous series of lyotropic liquid crystals. The high pressure phase diagrams are mapped up to 2 kbar for three homologues from each of the Triton X and Triton N series of non-ionic surfactants. We find that an interesting hexagonal-isotropic re-entrant phenomenon is a common feature of the transition lines of homologues in each series. For each homologue in each series, we report a systematic increase in the average value of dP/dT with decreasing concentration correlated with the presence of the re-entrant phenomenon.