Why use bicontinuous microemulsions as templates

2 Bicontinuous microemulsions as templates 11.2.1 Why use bicontinuous microemulsions as templates  

As was described in Chapter 1, microemulsions are structured on a nanometre scale with domain sizes of 5-50 nm, which corresponds to surface areas of 300-30 m2 g 1. Moreover, a microemulsion can have various microstructures, ranging from discrete particles of one phase dispersed in the second (oil droplets in water or vice versa) to a bicontinuous structure consisting of two equal subphases (oil and water). Thus, using micro emulsions as templates should lead to a material with a high surface area and a structure equal to the structure of the template. This material would be suitable for a range of apphcations that 

Microemulsions Background, New Concepts, Applications, Perspectives. Edited by Cosima Stubenrauch 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-405-16782-6 

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