Memory Effects Across Surfactant Mesophases

We report a detailed analysis of deuteron NMR spectra of micellar, lamellar, cubic, and hexagonal mesophases in the aqueous non-ionic surfactant system C12E6/water. Samples are prepared with and without shear. Particular attention is paid to an interesting temperature-driven phase sequence that includes all of the above phases that are studied before and after shear parallel or perpendicular to the magnetic field direction. Surprising memory effects are found across mesophase transitions. These memory effects provide clues to the structure of the various phases.