On microemulsion phase behavior and the monomeric solubility of surfactant

In this paper we highlight the advantageous features of both short- and lon g-chain surfactant systems in determining the most important properties of three-phase bodies and genuine microemulsions. To this end first the phase behavior of the simple system H2O-n-dodecane-C4E1 (n-butyl monoglycol ether ) is discussed. From temperature-concentration sections through the phase p rism at various water-to-oil ratios, a number of isothermal Gibbs triangles are constructed, which can quantitatively be compared with theories. Furth ermore, the critical tie-lines of the three-phase body have been precisely determined. From these measurements it is evident that there is a non-negli gible monomeric solubility of the surfactant in the excess phases. For long -chain surfactant systems, the more efficient the surfactant, the larger is the size of the microstructure of the microemulsion. We report a striking correlation between the efficiency of a surfactant and its monomeric solubi lity in the excess phases for 23 systems of the type H2O-n-alkane-CiEj. The se findings suggest that the monomeric solubility of the surfactant in oil and water might be the key to describing the main features of these microem ulsion systems.