Wellert, S. ; Karg, M. ; Holderer, O. ; Richardt, A. ; Hellweg, T.

2011-00-

Abstract: Currently, the design of microemulsions is focussed on the formulation of environmentally compatible systems formed by non-harmful amphiphiles and oils. The use of sugar-based surfactants allows the design of microemulsions where, instead of the temperature, the addition of short- or medium-chain alcohols tunes the curvature of the amphiphilic interface. In this work, the resulting temperature stability of a sugar surfactant and rapeseed methyl ester based bicontinuous microemulsion is exploited to study the influence of temperature variations on the bending elastic constant κ. Quasi-elastic scattering of light and neutrons is used to separate long-range collective motions and local thermally excited undulations of the interface. κ in units of kT is found to be independent of temperature over a wide range.

Keyword(s): Carbohydrates: chemistry (MeSH) ; Elasticity (MeSH) ; Emulsions: chemistry (MeSH) ; Light (MeSH) ; Scattering, Radiation (MeSH) ; Scattering, Small Angle (MeSH) ; Surface-Active Agents: chemistry (MeSH) ; Temperature (MeSH) ; X-Ray Diffraction (MeSH) ; Health and Life (1st) ; Key Technologies (1st) ; Soft Condensed Matter (2nd) ; Carbohydrates ; Emulsions ; Surface-Active Agents

1. J-NSE

1. J-NSE: Neutron spin-echo spectrometer (NL2ao)