Sign switch of Gaussian bending modulus for microemulsions; a self-consistent field analysis exploring scale invariant curvature energies
| Autor: | Varadharajan, Ramanathan, Leermakers, Frans. A. M. |
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| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 028003 (2018) |
| Druh dokumentu: | Working Paper |
| DOI: | 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.028003 |
| Popis: | Bending rigidities of tensionless balanced liquid-liquid interfaces as occurring in microemulsions are predicted using self-consistent field theory for molecularly inhomogeneous systems. Considering geometries with scale invariant curvature energies gives unambiguous bending rigidities for systems with fixed chemical potentials: The minimal surface Im3m cubic phase is used to find the Gaussian bending rigidity, $\bar{\kappa}$, and a torus with Willmore energy $W=2 \pi^2$ allows for direct evaluation of the mean bending modulus, $\kappa$. Consistent with this, the spherical droplet gives access to $2 \kappa + \bar{\kappa}$. We observe that $\bar{\kappa}$ tends to be negative for strong segregation and positive for weak segregation; a finding which is instrumental for understanding phase transitions from a lamellar to a sponge-like microemulsion. Invariably, $\kappa$ remains positive and increases with increasing strength of segregation. Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures |
| Databáze: | arXiv |
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