Solid State Structure and Lyotropic Mesomorphism of Rare-Earth Trisdodecylsulphates in the Water-Eth

The phase behaviour of lanthanide(Ⅲ) dodecylsulphates, Ln(C12H25SO4)3, by thermo-optical microscopy using Lawrence penetration technique was investigated. The lyotropic phase behaviour of lanthanide(Ⅲ) dodecylsulphates in ethylene glycol water in mixtures hereof, depends on the composition of the solvent. For pure ethylene glycol and mixtures of ethylene glycol and water three different mesophases are formed, i.e. a lamellar, a cubic and a hexagonal phase, whereas when water is used as solvent no cubic phase is formed. The size of the lanthanide ion has no influence on the mesomorphism of these metallomesogens, although the smaller the lanthanide ion the lower the solubility.