Dynamic interface tension of a smectic liquid crystal in anionic surfactant solutions

Abstract

The interface tension of a smectic liquid crystal with respect to a surrounding ionic surfactant solution is investigated at concentrations above and below the critical micelle concentration (cmc). A simple measurement technique has been developed recently [Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2013, 15, 7204], based on the geometrical analysis of the shape of smectic bubbles in water that are deformed by the buoyancy of trapped air bubbles. After preparation of the smectic membranes in the solution, we measure both the time dependence of their dynamic interface tension as well as the asymptotically reached static tension values. These are established about 15 minutes after the membrane preparation. At large enough concentrations of the surfactant (above the critical micelle concentration), the interface tension drops to 6 mN m⁻¹. At the lowest possible surfactant concentrations in our experiment, the equilibrium tension reaches 20 mN m⁻¹, which is almost equal to the smectic surface tension respective to air. The tension of a freshly drawn film exceeds this value by far.