The mixtures of [Zn(H2O)(6)](NO3)(2) salt, 10-lauryl ether (C12H25(OCH2CH2)(10)OH, represented as C12EO10). a charged surfactant (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, C16H33N(CH3)(3)Br, represented as CTAB or sodium dodecylsulfate, C12H25OSO3Na, SDS) and water form lyotropic liquid crystalline mesophases (LLCM). This assembly accommodates up to 8.0 Zn(II) ions (corresponds to about 80% w/w salt/(salt + C12EO10)) for each C12EO10 in the presence of a 1.0 CTAB (or 0.5 SDS) and 3.5 H2O in its LC phase. The salt concentration can be increased by increasing charged surfactant concentration of the media. Addition of charged surfactant to the [Zn(H2O)(6)](NO3)(2)-C12EO10 mesophase not only increases the salt content, it can also increase the water content of the media. The charged surfactant-C12EO10 (hydrophobic tail groups) and the surfactant (head groups)-salt ion (ion-pair, hydrogen-bonding) interactions stabilize the mesophases at such salt high and water concentrations. The presence of both Br- and NO3- ions influences the thermal and Structural properties of the [Zn(H2O)(6)](NO3)(2)-C12EO10-CTAB(or SDS)-H2O LLCM, which have been investigated using XRD, POM (with a hot stage), FT-IR and Raman techniques. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.