ROLE OF OXYGENATED OILS IN N-ALKYL BETA-D-MONOGLUCOSIDE MICROEMULSIONPHASE-BEHAVIOR

The phase behavior of mixtures of water, alkyl ethylene glycol ethers (CkOC2OCk) and n-alkyl beta-D-glucopyranosides (C(m)G(1)) is systemati cally reported as a function of temperature and composition. Previous work has shown that C(m)G(1) are nearly insoluble in alkanes, and tern ary mixtures of water-alkane-C(m)G(1) produce stable emulsions. Replac ing alkanes with more hydrophilic alkyl ethylene glycol ethers increas es the solubility of C(m)G(1) in the oil. The well-known 2-3-2 phase s equence is observed in water-CkOC2OCk-C(m)G(1) mixtures with increasin g temperature, indicating that C(m)G(1)'s partition into the oil at hi gher temperatures. This microemulsion phase behavior closely resembles that of mixtures made with water, oil, and other nonionic surfactants , e.g., n-alkyl polyglycol ethers (CiEj), and both tricritical phenome na and general patterns of phase behavior are observed.