Refracting and birefringent properties of lyotropic nematic mesophases

In this work, we investigated refracting, birefringent and thermotropic properties of lyotropic nematic mesophases. In particular, the morphological properties of nematic-calamitic and nematic-discotic lyotropic mesophases have been investigated in the heterophase regions at lyotropic nematic-isotropic liquid phase transitions. The changes in isotropic, mean refractive index, and anisotropic, birefringence, optical properties of the nematic mesophases by the changes in temperature have been observed to have fluctuational character in the heterophase regions of lyotropic nematic-isotropic liquid phase transitions. This character reflects the character of changes in shapes and sizes of micelles and in symmetries of the mesophases in the heterophase region. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.