The present invention provides a series of new chemical compounds, lyotropic liquid crystal systems, materials, blends, mixtures, namely acenaphtho[1,2-b]quinoxaline sulfoderivatives of the general structural formula:wherein n is an integer in the range of 1 to 4; m is an integer in the range of 0 to 4; z is an integer in the range of 0 to 6, and m+z+n≦10; X and Y are individually selected from the group consisting of CH3, C2H5, OCH3, OC2H5, Cl, Br, OH, OCOCH3NH2, NHCOCH3, NO2, F, CF3, CN, OCN, SCN, COOH, and CONH2; M is a counterion; and j is the number of counterions in the molecule.