Local geometry of surfactant monolayers in a ternary microemulsion system

Journal Article · Mon Jul 04 00:00:00 EDT 1994 · Physical Review Letters; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.73.106· OSTI ID:7171488

Lee, D D; Chen, S H ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139 (United States) Department of Nuclear Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02139 (United States)

Small angle neutron scattering was used to measure a series of water-octane-C[sub 10][ital E][sub 4] mixtures in the disordered microemulsion and lamellar phases. Varying the hydrogen-deuterium contrast in oil as well as water enabled us to isolate and determine the scattering contributions from the surfactant monolayers and the water-surfactant and oil-surfactant interfaces. Analyses of the resulting scattering patterns that include the effects of water and oil peneration allow us to demonstrate and quantify the inversion of the surfactant film's small mean curvature as a function of temperature and its relation to the overall phase behavior.

• DOE Contract Number: FG02-90ER45429
• OSTI ID: 7171488
• Journal Information: Physical Review Letters; (United States), Vol. 73:1; ISSN 0031-9007
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
MICROEMULSIONS
NEUTRON DIFFRACTION
GEOMETRY
INTERFACES
MICROSTRUCTURE
MIXTURES
OILS
PHASE STUDIES
SURFACTANTS
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
WATER
COHERENT SCATTERING
COLLOIDS
DIFFRACTION
DISPERSIONS
EMULSIONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MATHEMATICS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SCATTERING
665100* - Nuclear Techniques in Condensed Matter Physics - (1992-)
661300 - Other Aspects of Physical Science- (1992-)