MESOMORPHOUS POLYELECTROLYTE-SURFACTANT COMPLEXES

Research News: Polyelectrolyte - surfactant complexation allows the de sign and synthesis of a variety of highly ordered materials (such as t hat modeled in the Figure). The variation of the polyelectrolyte and/o r surfactant properties enables the tuning of the mechanical, electric al, and optical properties of the materials. The highly ordered media produced could be combined with a number of functional components (e.g ., NLO dyes, conducting subunits, or gas selective groups).