SMALL-ANGLE NEUTRON-SCATTERING FROM LECITHIN REVERSE MICELLES

We report new results of small-angle neutron scattering from cyclohexa ne-d(12)/lecithin/water micellar solutions, performed as a function of the water content, w(0), the temperature, T and the dispersed-phase v olume fraction, phi. The data from dilute samples can be interpreted i n terms of the existence of giant cylindrical reverse micelles, in goo d agreement with the current idea of an unlimited micellar growth with phi. In contrast, the appearance of a sharp interference maximum at h igh concentrations (phi > 0.15) suggests that the current hypothesis o f a gel structure interpreted as a random network of entangled micelle s can be assumed to be incorrect, and that there must be some caution in assuming analogies with neutral polymer-like systems.