Liquid-liquid immiscibility in spinodal systems exhibits a rich variety of domain morphologies and shape transitions. A generic description for domain formation invokes competing interactions; van der Waals attraction and long-range dipolar repulsion. In equilibrated Langmuir films, such a description predicts a variety of ordered shapes, the most common being stripes and bubbles.[1] In practice however disordered stripes are most frequently observed. These have been most extensively documented for interfacial Langmuir monolayers of phospholipids and cholesterol examples such as 65% DMPC: 35% Cholesterol.[2],[3],[4] Despite vast experimental effort in equilibrated phospholipid monolayers, reports on the observations of ordered morphologies (and transitions among them) are rare. Herein, we report the observation of homogeneous-bubble-stripe morphology during relaxation of pre-compressed langmuir monolayers of Poly(oxyethylene) (PEG)-amphiphile and a phospholipid at vanishing pressures. The PEG-amphiphiles used are single-chain polymers terminated with an alkyl tail. The bubble to stripe transition in these PEG/phospholipid systems only occurs at a specific percent concentration of the mixtures. The domain evolution is area and time dependent as well (figure 1).
[2] M Seul, a. V. S. C., Isotropic and Aligned Stripe Phases in a Monomolecular Organic Film. Physical Review Letters 1993, 70, (11), 1658-1661.
[3] Seul, M., Dynamics of Domain Shape Relaxation in Langmuir. J. Phys. Chem. 1993, 97, 2941-2945
[4] Subramaniam, S. a. M. H. M., Critical Mixing in Monolayer Mixtures of Phospholipid and Cholesterol. J. Phys. Chem. 1987, 91, 1715-1718.