Langmuir, Vol.28, No.7, 3378-3384, 2012
Formation of a Multiscale Aggregate Structure through Spontaneous Blebbing of an Interface
The motion of an oil water interface that mimics biological motility was investigated in a Hele-Shaw-like cell where elastic surfactant aggregates were formed at the oil water interface. With the interfacial motion, millimeter-scale pillar structures composed of the aggregates were formed. The pillars grew downward in the aqueous phase, and the separations between pillars were roughly equal. Small-angle X-ray scattering using a microbeam X-ray revealed that these aggregates had nanometer-scale lamellar structures whose orientation correlated well with their location in the pillar structure. It is suggested that these hierarchical spatial structures are tailored by the spontaneous interfacial motion.