Predicting the orientation of lipid cubic phase films

DOI: 10.1021/la503313n

Authors: Paul Staniec (Diamond Light Source) , Gemma Newby (Diamond Light Source) , Nicholas Terrill (Diamond Light Source) , Samuel Richardson (University of Reading) , Joanne Elliott (University of Reading) , Adam Squires (University of Reading) , Wojciech T. Goìzìdzì (Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Langmuir , VOL 30 , PAGES 13510-13515

State: Published (Approved)
Published: October 2014
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 8418

Abstract: Lipid cubic phase films are of increasingly widespread importance, both in the analysis of the cubic phases themselves by techniques including microscopy and X-ray scattering, and in their applications, especially as electrode coatings for electrochemical sensors and for templates for the electrodeposition of nanostructured metal. In this work we demonstrate that the crystallographic orientation adopted by these films is governed by minimization of interfacial energy. This is shown by the agreement between experimental data obtained using grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GI-SAXS), and the predicted lowest energy orientation determined using a theoretical approach we have recently developed. GI-SAXS data show a high degree of orientation for films of both the double diamond phase and the gyroid phase, with the [111] and [110] directions respectively perpendicular to the planar substrate. In each case, this matches the lowest energy facet calculated for that particular phase.

Journal Keywords: Gisaxs; Lipid; Bicontinuous

Subject Areas: Chemistry, Materials, Physics


Instruments: I07-Surface & interface diffraction

Added On: 04/11/2014 13:53

Discipline Tags:

Surfaces Physics Physical Chemistry Chemistry Materials Science interfaces and thin films

Technical Tags:

Scattering Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) Grazing Incidence Small Angle Scattering (GISAXS)