0000000000136570
AUTHOR
Reinhard Strey
Temperature-dependent phase transitions in water-oil-surfactant mixtures: Experiment and theory
We investigate temperature induced phase transitions in mixtures of water, oil, and a nonionic surfactant. By microcalorimetric measurements it is shown that the droplet-lamellar transition shows hysteresis so that it is strongly first order. The position of this transition and of the emulsification boundary are quantitatively described by an interfacial model which considers solely the temperature dependence of the spontaneous curvature. There is no fit parameter in the model. Remarkably, the positions of both boundaries do not depend on the bending moduli. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
Microemulsions: Phase transitions and their dynamics
By differential scanning microcalorimetry we investigate temperature-induced phase transitions and their dynamics in mixtures of water, oil and a non-ionic surfactant. Special emphasis is on an investigation of the transition from a lamellar to a microemulsion phase and on the emulsification failure. The first-order phase transition from a lamellar to a microemulsion phase leads to heat changes up to 1k BT per surfactant molecule. These large values for the latent heat are quantitatively described by an interfacial model which takes into account the temperature dependence of the spontaneous curvature.
Latent Heat of Spontaneous-Curvature-Induced Lamellar-to-Microemulsion Transitions
Using differential scanning microcalorimetry we examine the latent heat of the temperature-induced structural transition from a lamellar to a microemulsion phase in a H2O/n-octane/C12E5 (n-dodecyl pentanethyleneglycol ether) system. The associated latent heat increases strongly with surfactant concentration yielding heat changes up to 1kB T per surfactant molecule. These large values are quantitatively described by an interfacial model which takes into account the temperature dependence of the spontaneous curvature. The model explains our data points without considering contributions to the free energy by thermal fluctuations, entropy of mixing, undulations of the lamellae and renormalizati…
Oscillations in the dynamics of temperature-driven phase separation
We examine the dynamics of the phase separation of a single phase of water-in-oil microemulsion droplets towards a phase of smaller droplets coexisting with a water-rich phase. Oscillations are observed in the turbidity of the mixture and in the specific heat, when this transition is induced by a continuous temperature increase. The oscillations indicate an unusual type of dynamics which involves an energy barrier only to be overcome by a large number of droplets collectively. It is due to the spontaneous curvature of the water-oil-interface, and conservation of volumes.