Effects of temperature on the development of the internal structure of thecetyltrimethylammonium chloride/cetyl alcohol/water system

Cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (C(16)CA) is added to a saturated solution containing an excess of aggregated spherical white solid globules of cetyl alcohol (C16OH) to give a semitranslucent gel (STG) spontaneously without s tirring. Its internal structure was compared by morphology and thermal prop erties with a ternary mixture system (TMS) of the same composition but prep ared by mixing and stirring at 75 degrees C. While dispersed particles in t he TMS are multilamellar vesicles, the STG consists of anisotropic lamellae . The melting point is lower for lamellae than for vesicles because of the higher water content between lamellae. The interlamellar water content play s a critical role in the structural difference between the two assemblies.