nder highly alkaline conditions, the silicate−surfactant systems possess the characteristics of ordinary lyotropic liquid crystalline systems, though the balance of forces underlying their self-assembly is complicated by the richness of the aqueous silicate chemistry. This is the first comprehensive description of lyotropic silicate−surfactant liquid crystalline behavior, from which detailed insight is obtained into the molecular factors governing inorganic−organic mesophase formation in aqueous media.
