O W MICROEMULSIONS AND HYDROTROPES - THE COUPLING ACTION OF A HYDROTROPE/

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.