Effect of micellar flexibility on the isotropic-nematic phase transition in solutions of linear aggregates

Abstract

If linear micelles are considered to be rigid, their growth couples so strongly to alignment in the nematic phase that they grow almost without bound but we show that this coupling is greatly diminished when a realistic flexibility is taken into account. Analytical expressions for the coexistence variables are derived for the complete range of semiflexibility. Enhancement of growth by modifying the intrinsic properties of the micelles leads to a decrease in the order parameter of the nematic phase at the transition