Microemulsions diffusion

Figure C2.3.8. Self-diffusion coefficients at 45°C for AOT ( ), water ( ) and decane ( ) in ternary AOT, brine (0.6% aqueous NaCl) and decane microemulsion system as a function of composition, a. This compositional parameter, a, is tire weight fraction of decane relative to decane and brine. Reproduced by pennission from figure 3 of [46].

However, in the case of mini- and microemulsions, processing methods reduce the size of the monomer droplets close to the size of the micelle, leading to significant particle nucleation in the monomer droplets (17). Intense agitation, cosurfactant, and dilution are used to reduce monomer droplet size. Additives like cetyl alcohol are used to retard the diffusion of monomer from the droplets to the micelles, in order to further promote monomer droplet nucleation (18). The benefits of miniemulsions include faster reaction rates (19), improved shear stabiHty, and the control of particle size distributions to produce high soHds latices (20). 

For diffuse and delocahzed interfaces one can still define a mathematical surface which in some way describes the film, for example by 0(r) = 0. A problem arises if one wants to compare the structure of microemulsion and of ordered phases within one formalism. The problem is caused by the topological fluctuations. As was shown, the Euler characteristic averaged over the surfaces, (x(0(r) = 0)), is different from the Euler characteristics of the average surface, x((0(r)) = 0), in the ordered phases. This difference is large in the lamellar phase, especially close to the transition to the microemulsion. x((0(r)) =0) is a natural quantity for the description of the structure of the ordered phases. For microemulsion, however, (0(r)) = 0 everywhere, and the only meaningful quantity is (x(0(r) = 0))-... 

Recently an alternative approach for the description of the structure in systems with self-assembling molecules has been proposed in Ref. 68. In this approach no particular assumption about the nature of the internal interfaces or their bicontinuity is necessary. Therefore, within the same formahsm, localized, well-defined thin films and diffuse interfaces can be described both in the ordered phases and in the microemulsion. This method is based on the vector field describing the orientational ordering of surfactant, u, or rather on its curlless part s defined in Eq. (55). 

Having determined the effect of the diffusive interfaces on the structure parameters, we now turn to the calculation of H and K in microemulsions. In the case of oil-water symmetry three-point correlation functions vanish and = 0. In order to calculate K from (77) and (83) we need the exphcit expressions for the four-point correlation functions. In the Gaussian approximation... 

In the microemulsion the role of A is played by the period of damped oscillations of the correlation functions (Eq. (7)). The surface-averaged Gaussian curvature Ky, = 2t x/ S is the topological invariant per unit surface area. Therefore the comparison between Ryyi = Kyy / in the disordered microemulsion and in the ordered periodic phases is justified. We calculate here R= Since K differs for diffused films from cor-... 

The last, and less extensively studied field variable driving percolation effects is chemical potential. Salinity was examined in the seminal NMR self-diffusion paper of Clarkson et al. [12] as a component in brine, toluene, and SDS (sodium dodecylsulfate) microemulsions. Decreasing levels of salinity were found to be sufficient to drive the microemulsion microstructure from water-in-oil to irregular bicontinuous to oil-in-water. This paper was... 

FIG. 3 Self-diffusion coefficients of decane (A), water (B), and AOT ( ) in brine, decane, and AOT microemulsions at 45°C as a function of decane weight fraction, a (relative to decane and brine). Breakpoints in the self-diffusion data for both water and AOT are observed at a = 0.85 and at 0.7. (Reproduced by permission of the American Institute of Physics from Ref. 37.)... 

FIG. 4 Apparent mole fraction (x) water in continuous phase of brine, decane, and AOT microemulsion system derived from the water self-diffusion data of Fig. 3 using the two-state model of Eq. (1). 

FIG. 5 Order parameter for disperse pseudophase water (percolating clusters versus isolated swollen micelles and nonpercolating clusters) derived from self-diffusion data for brine, decane, and AOT microemulsion system of single-phase region illustrated in Fig. 1. The a and arrow denote the onset of percolation in low-frequency conductivity and a breakpoint in water self-diffusion increase. The other arrow (b) indicates where AOT self-diffusion begins to increase. 

FIG. 9 Measured self-diffusion coefficients at 25°C for toluene (A), water ( ), acrylamide ( , and AOT ( ) in water, toluene, and AOT reverse microemulsions as a function of cosurfactant (acrylamide) concentration, f (wt%). The breakpoint at about 1.2% acrylamide approximately denotes, the onset of percolation in electrical conductivity. 

X 10 cm by measuring molecularly dispersed water in toluene and by correcting for local viscosity differences between toluene and these microemulsions [36]. Values for Dfnic were taken as the observed self-diffusion coefficient for AOT. The apparent mole fraction of water in the continuous toluene pseudophases was then calculated from Eq. (1) and the observed water proton self-diffusion data of Fig. 9. These apparent mole fractions are illustrated in Fig. 10 (top) as a function of... 

While the order parameters derived from the self-diffusion data provide quantitative estimates of the distribution of water among the competing chemical equilibria for the various pseudophase microstructures, the onset of electrical percolation, the onset of water self-diffusion increase, and the onset of surfactant self-diffusion increase provide experimental markers of the continuous transitions discussed here. The formation of irregular bicontinuous microstructures of low mean curvature occurs after the onset of conductivity increase and coincides with the onset of increase in surfactant self-diffusion. This onset of surfactant diffusion increase is not observed in the acrylamide-driven percolation. This combination of conductivity and self-diffusion yields the possibility of mapping pseudophase transitions within isotropic microemulsions domains. 

Because the copolymerization of the components of micelles is very rapid, the microgel particles scarcely grow by intermicellar diffusion of the comonomers or by diffusion from the microemulsion droplets. This has been confirmed by the microgel composition [112] which remains constant over the whole reaction time (Fig. 25), even when using different ratios of EUP/comonomer [113,116]. 

Based on the above results and discussion, the mechanism for the rhythmic oscillations at the oil/water interface with surfactant and alcohol molecules may be explained in the following way [3,47,48] with reference to Table 1. As the first step, surfactant and alcohol molecules diffuse from the bulk aqueous phase to the interface. The surfactant and alcohol molecules near the interface tend to form a monolayer. When the concentration of the surfactant together with the alcohol reaches an upper critical value, the surfactant molecules are abruptly transferred to the organic phase with the formation of inverted micelles or inverted microemulsions. This step should be associated with the transfer of alcohol from the interface to the organic phase. Thus, when the concentration of the surfactant at the interface decreases below the lower critical value, accumulation of the surfactant begins and the cycle is repeated. Rhythmic changes in the electrical potential and the interface tension are thus generated. 

The extent to which the vehicle can affect the entire diffusion process can be shown by an example. In a four-component system of 40% oil, 40% water, and 20% of an emulsifying agent and coemulsifier, alteration of only the proportion of emulsifier to coemulsifier leads to systems of completely different colloidal-chemical structures, which can be labeled as either creams, gels, or microemulsions. 

The procedure chosen for the preparation of lipid complexes of AmB was nanoprecipitation. This procedure has been developed in our laboratory for a number of years and can be applied to the formulation of a number of different colloidal systems liposomes, microemulsions, polymeric nanoparticles (nanospheres and nanocapsules), complexes, and pure drug particles (14-16). Briefly, the substances of interest are dissolved in a solvent A and this solution is poured into a nonsolvent B of the substance that is miscible with the solvent A. As the solvent diffuses, the dissolved material is stranded as small particles, typically 100 to 400 nm in diameter. The solvent is usually an alcohol, acetone, or tetrahydrofuran and the nonsolvent A is usually water or aqueous buffer, with or without a hydrophilic surfactant to improve colloid stability after formation. Solvent A can be removed by evaporation under vacuum, which can also be used to concentrate the suspension. The concentration of the substance of interest in the organic solvent and the proportions of the two solvents are the main parameters influencing the final size of the particles. For liposomes, this method is similar to the ethanol injection technique proposed by Batzii and Korn in 1973 (17), which is however limited to 40 mM of lipids in ethanol and 10% of ethanol in final aqueous suspension. 

Further information on the dependence of structure of microemulsions formed on the alcohol chain length was obtained from measurement of self diffusion coefficient of all the constitutents using NMR techniques (29-34). For microemulsions consisting of water, hydrocarbon, an anionic surfactant and a short chain alcohol and C ) the self diffusion... 

In that case the self diffusion coefficient - concentration curve shows a behaviour distinctly different from the cosurfactant microemulsions. has a quite low value throughout the extension of the isotropic solution phase up to the highest water content. This implies that a model with closed droplets surrounded by surfactant emions in a hydrocarbon medium gives an adequate description of these solutions, found to be significantly higher them D, the conclusion that a non-negligible eimount of water must exist between the emulsion droplets. 

Thus, in summary, self diffusion measurements by Lindman et a (29-34) have clearly indicated that the structure of microemulsions depends to a large extent on the chain length of the oosurfactant (alcohol), the surfactant and the type of system. With short chain alcohols (hydrophilic domains and the structure is best described by a bicontinuous solution with easily deformable and flexible interfaces. This picture is consistent with the percolative behaviour observed when the conductivity is measured as a function of water volume fraction (see above). With long chain alcohols (> Cg) on the other hand, well defined "cores" may be distinguished with a more pronounced separation into hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions. 

The addition of a dispersed droplet phase (forming a microemulsion) provides a convenient means of solubilizing highly polar or ionic species into the low polarity environment of the SCF phase. Hence, the combination of supercritical solvents with microemulsion stractures provides a new type of solvent with some unusual and important properties of potential interest to a range of technologies. These droplets have high diffusion rates in SCF and the properties of the continuous phase can be readily controlled by manipulation of system pressure (Beckman et al., 1995). 

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