PERTURBATIONS OF MICROEMULSION DROPLETS BY CONFINEMENT AND ADSORPTIONOF POLYMER

We perturb the structure of dilute microemulsion droplets by confining polymer chains inside the droplets and by adsorbing polymer on the su rfactant shells from the outer phase. We observe the local structure c hanges by small-angle neutron scattering. The curvature fluctuations a nd the size distribution of the droplets increase in both cases by dif ferent possible mechanisms, an induced size polydispersity minimizing osmotic stresses in the first case, a lowering of the film rigidity in the second one. The polymer adsorption is observed by measuring the p olymer-droplet cross-structure factor.