BEHAVIOR OF HYDROCARBON ALCOHOL DROPS INJECTED INTO DILUTE-SOLUTIONS OF AN AMINE OXIDE SURFACTANT/

Videomicroscopy was used to observe intermediate phase formation and o ther dynamic behavior which occurred when drops containing mixtures of n-decane and a short-chain alcohol were contacted with dilute solutio ns of an amine oxide surfactant. Some equilibrium phase behavior was a lso determined with n-heptanol as the alcohol to help in interpreting the contacting experiments. In most contacting experiments the first i ntermediate phase formed was the lamellar liquid crystal. For systems rich in hydrocarbon it grew very rapidly as short and fluid myelinic f igures containing substantial amounts of both hydrocarbon and water. T he myelinic figures almost immediately disintegrated into a multitude of drops in a process resembling an explosion. For systems rich in alc ohol a highly viscous lamellar phase developed around the drop in a co nfiguration resembling a polyhedron. At intermediate alcohol contents oil drops formed spontaneously as the amount of liquid crystal increas ed. Both the ''explosions'' and the spontaneous emulsification are lik ely to be favorable for detergency.