An L3-phase is observed for the first time in a ternary phase diagram of a Ca-salt of an α-sulfonated alkyl
fatty acid methyl ester, the cosurfactant (2-ethylhexyl)monoglyceride and water. As for other ternary surfactant/cosurfactant systems, the L3-phase occurs with increasing cosurfactant/surfactant ratios after the Lα-phase.
Some properties of the newly observed L3-phases are the same as for other known L3-phases. It is a low
viscosity, optically isotropic fluid with a low flow birefringence. The time constants τ of the electric
birefringence results scale with τ ∼ Ø-3. Its conductivity is very much higher than that of the neighboring
Lα-phase, but there are some marked differences from known L3-phases. This novel L3-phase is thermodynamically stable despite ionic structure of the surfactant. We found no two phase region between the Lα and the
L3-phase, and the L3-phase is stable over a wide cosurfactant/surfactant ratio between one and two. In SANS
measurements it shows a broad correlation peak that occurs at about the same position as the sharper peak
in the Lα-phase. The structure of the L3-phase is demonstrated by FF-TEM micrographs.
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