The influence of a hydrotrope, sodium xylenesulfonate (SXS), was deter
mined on the areas of oil-in-water (O/W) microemulsions of water, sodi
um dodecyl sulfate (SDS), pentanol (C5OH), and aliphatic hydrocarbons.
The addition of a hydrotrope extended the microemulsion toward higher
hydrocarbon content for the aliphatic hydrocarbons hexane and decane,
while the improvement for a typical white oil was less pronounced. Th
e regions are reported in the form of three-dimensional diagrams with
five components and provide a rational explanation of the coupling act
ion of a hydrotrope molecule.