Characterisation of Microemulsions Using Scattering Techniques

Scattering techniques provide the most obvious methods for obtaining information on the size, shape and structure of microemulsions. The scattering of radiation, e.g. light, neutrons. X-ray, etc. by particles has been successfully applied to investigate many systems such as polymer solutions, micelles and colloidal particles. 

In all the above methods, measurements can be made at sufficiently low concentration to avoid complications arising from particle-particle interactions. The results obtained are extrapolated to infinite dilution to obtain the desirable property such as the molecular weight and radius of gyration of a polymer coil, the size and shape of micelles, etc. 

Unfortunately, the above dilution method cannot be applied to microemulsions, which depend on a specific composition of oil, water and surfactants. The microemulsions cannot be diluted by the continuous phase since this dilution results in 

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Characterisation of Microemulsions Using Scattering Techniques 327 where K is the scattering vector,... 

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