Middle-phase microemulsions of green surfactant alkyl polyglucosides

Microemulsions are important organized molecular assembles in surfactant solutions and are used in various fields such as tertiary oil recovery, pharmaceutics, cosmetics, nanoparticle synthe-sis and chemical engineering. The more commonly used nonionic surfactants to produce micro- emulsions are the ethylene oxide-based compounds (CiEj). In recent years alkyl polyglucosides have been received considerable attention in producing microemulsions[17]. Alkyl polyglucosides (APG), which are widely…     

烷基聚葡糖苷C9.6G1.3/n-C4H9OH/n-C6H14/H2O微乳液体系的介电弛豫谱研究

The pseudotertiary phase diagram of the microemulsion system alkyl polyglucoside/n-butanol/n-hexane/water was plotted at （30.0±0.1） ℃. The dielectric measurements, including permittivity, conductivity, relaxation strength, characteristic relaxation time, etc,, were applied to investigate the microstructure of the system. Unique dielectric relaxations were observed over the frequency range of 5-10^7 Hz, taking place possibly through an interracial polarization mechanism. According to the results obtained from dielectric spectroscopy, the structures of the microemulsion O/W, BC and W/O were determined, and some dielectric and phase parameters were calculated.     

Phase Diagrams and Solubilization of Chlorocarbons in Chlorocarbon/Water/Anionic Surfactant/Alcohol Microemulsion Systems

The solubilization abilities of various chlorocarbons were investigated in a middle phase microemulsion system anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or sodium dodecyl sulfonate (AS)/n-butanol/chlorocarbon/brine with a ε-β fishlike phase diagram. The composition of the balanced interfacial layer of the microemulsion and some other parameters are calculated. The result shows that surfactant little dissolves in water and chlorocarbon phases, while alcohol mainly dissolves in water and oil phases besides in the interfacial layer. The order of the solubilization ability is dichloromethane (CH₂Cl₂) ～ carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) > tetrachloroethylene (PCE) > o-dichloro-benzene. The solubility of the alcohol decreases with the increase in NaCl concentrations, which should be compensated by the increase in the amount of alcohol as cosolvent (Cs), so as to maintain the balanced interfacial layer. Salinity has little effect on the partition of surfactant between phases.     

Microemulsion polymerization of acrylamide and styrene: Effect of the structures of reaction media

Isothermal phase diagrams of the system cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)/n‐butanol/n‐octane/water were constructed, and the effect of the oil (n‐octane) contents on the microemulsions was studied at 40 °C. We determined the microemulsion structures of two systems, CTAB/n‐butanol/10% n‐octane/water and sodium dodecyl sulfonate (As)/n‐butanol/20% styrene/water, by conductivity measurements to investigate the polymerization of acrylamide and styrene in the two microemulsion systems. The polymerization kinetics of the water‐soluble monomer acrylamide in CTAB micelles and the different CTAB/n‐butanol/10% n‐octane/water microemulsion media [water‐in‐oil (W/O), bicontinuous (BC), and oil‐in‐water (O/W)] were studied with water‐soluble sodium bisulfite as the initiator. The maximum polymerization rate in CTAB micelles was found at the second critical micelle concentration. A mechanism of polyacrylamide formation and growth was proposed. A connection between the structures of the microemulsions and the polymerization rates was observed; the maximum polymerization rate occurred at two transition points, from W/O to BC and from BC to O/W, and the polyacrylamide molecular weights, which depended on the structures of the microemulsions, were also found. A square‐root dependence of the polymerization rates on the initiator concentrations was obtained in CTAB micelles and O/W microemulsion media. The polymerization of the oil‐soluble monomer styrene in different As/n‐butanol/20% styrene/water microemulsion media (W/O, BC, and O/W) was also investigated with different initiators: water‐soluble potassium persulfate and oil‐soluble azobisisobutyronitrile. A similar connection between the structures of the microemulsions and the conversions of styrene in CTAB/n‐butanol/10% n‐octane/water for the polymerization of acrylamide was observed again. The structures of the microemulsions had an important role in the molecular weights and sizes of polystyrene. The polystyrene particles were 10–20 nm in diameter in BC microemulsion media and 30–60 nm in diameter in O/W microemulsion media according to transmission electron microscopy. We determined the solubilization site of styrene in O/W microemulsion drops by ¹H NMR spectra to analyze the results of the microemulsion polymerization of styrene. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3320–3334, 2001     

Studies on the Middle-phase Microemulsion of Lauric-N-methylglucamide

The phase behaviour of the middle-phase microemulsion for the quaternary system lauric-N-methylglucamide （MEGA-12）/n-butanollalkane/water has been studied with Winsor type, δ-γ, fishlike and novel ε-β fishlike phase diagrams. A series of phase inversions Winsor I （2）→Ⅲ（3）→Ⅱ （ 2 ） were observed for the three kinds of phase diagrams. The phase types, the phase volumes and the range of alcohol concentrations from the beginning to the end of the middle-phase microemulsion were obtained from Winsor phase diagram. From δ-γ, fishlike phase diagram, the physicochemical parameters, such as the mass fraction of n-butanol in the hydrophile-lipophile balanced inteffacial layer, A^s, the coordinates of the start and end points of the middle-phase microemulsion, and the solubilities of MEGA-12 and n-butanol in alkane phase were calculated. The novel ε-β fishlike phase diagram was also presented. From this kind of diagram, the above experimental phenomena were observed and the physicochemical parameters were calculated precisely. The novel fishlike phase diagram has advantages over the Winsor and δ-γ fishlike phase diagrams in the evaluation of the solubilization power of the microemulsion and calculation of the related physicochemical parameters.     

Interfacial and Thermodynamic Properties of Formation of Water‐in‐Oil Microemulsions with Surfactants (SDS and CTAB) and Cosurfactants (n‐Alkanols C5–C9)

The interfacial and thermodynamic properties of water‐in‐oil microemulsion systems consisting of water, isopropyl myristate, n‐alkanol, and surfactant have been investigated using the method of dilution. The surfactants used were hexadecyl trimethylammonium bromide and sodium dodecylsulfate, and the cosurfactants were n‐alkanols with varying chain length from (C₅–C₉). The distribution of cosurfactant (n‐alkanol) between the interface of water and oil regions at the threshold level of stability as well as the energetics of the transfer of the cosurfactant from the oil to the interfacial region have been examined as a function of varying cosurfactant chain length (C₄–C₉) and temperature. The structural parameters (including dimension, population density and effective water pool radius) of the dispersed water droplets in the oil phase have also been evaluated and correlated with alkanol chain length.     

Solubilization and phase equilibria of water-in-oil microemulsions : II. Effects of alcohols, oils, and salinity on single-chain surfactant systems

The solubilization and phase equilibria of w/o microemulsions have been shown to be dependent on two phenomenological parameters, namely the spontaneous curvature and elasticity of the interfacial film, when interfacial tension is very low. The spontaneous curvature of an interface is basically determined by the geometric packing of surfactant and cosurfactant molecules at the interface, whereas the interfacial elasticity is related to the energy required to bend the interface. The droplet size and solubilization of microemulsions is mainly determined by the radius of spontaneous curvature, and is further influenced by interfacial elasticity and interdroplet interactions. A w/o microemulsion with a highly curved and relatively rigid interfacial film can exist in equilibrium with excess water at the solubilization limit due to the interfacial bending stress. Increasing the natural radius and fluidity of the interface can increase the droplet size and hence the solubilization in the microemulsion. On the other hand, a w/o microemulsion with a highly fluid interfacial film can exist in equilibrium with an excess oil phase containing a low density of microemulsion droplets due to attractive interdroplet interaction. Increasing the interfacial rigidity and decreasing the natural radius in this case can increase water solubilization in the microemulsion by retarding the phase separation process. Thus, a maximum water solubilization in a w/o microemulsion can be obtained by minimizing both the interfacial bending stress of rigid interfaces and the attractive interdroplet interaction of fluid interfaces at an optimal interfacial curvature and elasticity. The study of phase equilibria of microemulsions can serve as a simple method to evaluate the property of the interface and provide phenomenological guidance for the formulation of microemulsions with maximum solubilization capacity.     

Hydrolytic Cleavage of Paraoxon by Octanohydroxamate Ion in Cationic Microemulsions

The hydrolysis reaction of O,O‐diethyl O‐p‐nitrophenylphosphate (Paraoxon) with the octanohydroxamate ion (OHA^?) was studied in a cationic oil‐in‐water (O/W) microemulsion system over a pH range 7.5–12.0 at 300 K. The O/W systems are stabilized by using cationic surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and n‐butanol as cosurfactants. In a microemulsion, the rate enhancement by OHA^? is greater toward the cleavage of paraoxon than its spontaneous (2.1 × 10⁷ s^?1) hydrolysis. The k_obs values for the reaction of paraoxon with OHA^? were determined in different microemulsion compositions with varying chain length of alcohols (n‐butanol, n‐pentanol, n‐octanol, and n‐dodecanol) and alkanes (n‐hexane, n‐heptane, and n‐decane). The effects of water content, pH, and size of the oil pool have been discussed.     

绿色表面活性剂——烷基(聚)葡糖苷缔合结构体系

行近年来“绿色表面活性剂”烷基（聚）葡萄苷的研究在国际上越来越受重视。本文从表面吸附性能、水溶液的相行为、形成微乳液及与类脂物的作用等方面对烷基（聚）葡萄苷的研究进展作了综述。     

PHASE BEHAVIOUR IN THE SYSTEM TRS 10-80/BUTANOL/PETROL D/SODIUM CHLORIDE

The phase diagrams for the system TRS 10-80/ butanol/Petrol D/sodium chloride show that the weight ratio B = TRS/butanol is very important for the stability of the microemulsion. R = 1 results in a very limited microemulsion region. Provided the ratio is >1.22 the minimum amount of (TRS+butanol) necessary to form a microemulsion, with equal amounts of water and Petrol D, is 15% and approximately independent of R.However, as R is increased the solubility of water in the (TRS+butanol) mixture is reduced and a liquid crystalline phase is formed. Its presence increases the viscosity and the kinetic stability of the emulsions formed at low content of Petrol D.

Addition of electrolyte reduces the minimum amount of (TRS+butanol) necessary to form a microemulsion. Furthermore, systems rich in water separate into two phases; an upper microemulsion phase and a lower aqueous phase. This can be explained in terms of a redistribution of the butanol from the aqueous phase to the oil phase. It is shown that, although the studied system contains unpurified technical products, the phase behaviour is very similar to that of model systems of pure chemicals.

X-ray diffraction showed that the liquid crystal line phase was lamellar. The thickness of the amphiphilie layer was 26-28 Å. It is more difficult to obtain direct information of the structure of the microemulsion. However, conductivity data indicated a “bicontinuous” structure or at least, the occurrence of highly dynamic aggregates over a large concentration range.     

Microemulsion microstructure and interfacial curvature

The typical phase behavior of microemulsion systems undergoing phase inversion is briefly reviewed. As a model system H₂O-n-octane-C₁₂E₅ is studied with various experimental techniques. The occurring microstructures are visualized by freeze fracture electron microscopy and the corresponding domain sizes are quantified by small-angle neutron scattering. From the variations of the domain sizes the mean and Gaussian curvatures of the interfacial film with temperature are determined. It is found that the mean interfacial curvatureH changes gradually and nearly linearly with temperature from positive (Winsor I) to negative (Winsor II), passing through zero for bicontinuous microemulsions where these contain exactly equal volume fractions of water and oil. There the interfacial tension between bulk water-and oil-rich phases passes through an extreme minimum. Quantitative knowledge of the curvatures permits the measurements of interfacial tensions between the bulk phases to be discussed in terms of the relative contributions of bending energy and entropy of dispersion.     

Uranium(VI) extraction by Winsor II microemulsion systems using trialkyl phosphine oxide

Summary The parameters affecting the formation of the microemulsion were investigated and the microemulsion region was determined. The extraction of uranium(VI) from HNO₃ solution into a water in oil microemulsion was studied. The effects of the concentration of extractant (TRPO), the volume ratio of oil to water and the acidity of outer water phase on the extraction equilibrium of uranium(VI) are discussed and the appropriate conditions are obtained. The result showed the microemulsion has great efficiency for uranium(VI) extraction.     

Effects of salinity on the viscosity and birefringence of a microemulsion system

Oil/water/surfactant systems form complex equilibrium phases which are sensitive to a number of parameters, including amount and concentration of cosurfactant (often an alcohol), salinity, and temperature. If one of these variables is changed systematically as, for example, the salinity, an interesting transition may be observed in which at low salinities a microemulsion is in equilibrium with an excess oil phase, at moderate salinities a middle phase microemulsion is in equilibrium with both excess oil and excess water phases, and at higher salinities brine is in equilibrium with a microemulsion phase. To help elucidate the structure of the microemulsion, studies of viscoelasticity and streaming birefringence in oscillatory shear flow have been conducted of a middle phase-forming system as a function of salinity. It is found that the viscoelastic properties of the microemulsions are unchanged for shear rates varying from 0.1 to 100 sec⁻¹. Both the birefringence and the viscosity maximize near the salinity marking the transition from lower phase to middle phase microemulsion. Further inflections in these properties occur at a salinity marking the midrange of the middle phase microemulsion. For all cases the dominent relaxation time is near 3 to 5 msec while the birefringence changes by two orders of magnitude. The birefringence is a sensitive indicator of the elastic structure of the microemulsion.     

Alkyl polyglucoside microemulsion phase behavior

We review several key elements of alkyl polyglucoside (C_mG_n) microemulsion phase behavior. The low solubility of C_mG_n surfactants in oils such as alkanes makes producing C_mG_n microemulsions and subsequent study of their phase behavior difficult. Increasing the solubility of C_mG_n in oil is therefore helpful for the systematic study of C_mG_n-based microemulsion formulations. To this end, the role of cosurfactants in producing microemulsions with water, alkanes, and n-alkyl β-d-glucopyranosides is first discussed. Adding C₁₀βG₁ to mixtures of water–alkane–ethoxylated alcohol surfactants (C_iE_j) produces a region of the three-phase body (a ‘chimney’) that is independent of temperature; thus C_mβG₁ are not completely soluble in the co-oil formed of alkane and C_iE_j at higher temperatures. Then, through a novel approach using oxygenated ether oils (C_kOC₂OC_k), microemulsions are formed with water, C_kOC₂OC_k, and C_mβG₁ and the phase behavior studied as a function of temperature and composition. Increased C_mβG₁ solubility in the more hydrophilic ether oils produces patterns of phase behavior in water–C_kOC₂OC_k–C_mβG₁ mixtures that are identical to those observed in water–alkane–C_iE_j mixtures. Using the water–ether oil–C_mβG₁ mixtures as a base case, the role of C_mG_n surfactant structure in setting C_mG_n microemulsion phase behavior is explored. The solubility of the α-d anomer (n-alkyl α-d-glucopyranosides, C_mαG₁) in water is much less than that of the β-d surfactant, and these solubility boundaries extend to high surfactant and oil concentrations in water–C_kOC₂OC_k–C_mαG₁ mixtures. Adding C_mG₂ compounds to water–C_kOC₂OC_k–C_mβG₁ mixtures shifts the phase behavior to high temperatures, again demonstrating the extreme hydrophilic nature of the sugar headgroup. Finally, adding small amounts of ionic alkyl sulfate surfactants to water–C_kOC₂OC_k–C_mβG₁ mixtures dramatically reduces the total amount of surfactant needed to form a single-phase microemulsion.     

Studies of Synthesis and Interfacial Properties of Sodium Branched‐Alkylbenzenesulfonates

Two sodium branched‐alkylbenzensulfonates with additional alkyl substituents were synthesized through a series of reactions. The interfacial tension of these alkylbenzenesulfonates between 1.0% NaCl solution and six n‐alkanes were measured. From the data of measurements the following values were calculated: critical micelle concentration (cmc), the interfacial tension at the cmc (γ_cmc), interfacial excess concentration at the cmc (Γ_m), area per molecule at the cmc (A_m). There were a minimum γ_cmc and a maximum Γ_m appeared for the same n‐alkane with increasing the hydrocarbon chain length of the oil. These indicated that the hydrocarbon chain length of oil have the important effect on adsorption and interfacial tension.     

Nonionic Microemulsion: Mechanism of Formation and Percolation

A series of microemulsions, both W/O and O/W, based on nonionic surfactants of the form (NP(EO)_n), were prepared using the titration method. Mixing a constant weight of surfactant with a constant volume of the dispersed phase and an initial volume of continuous phase produces an emulsion, which is titrated to clarity with another surfactant (cosurfactant). Plotting (a) the volume of cosurfactant necessary to transform an emulsion into a microemulsion containing a fixed volume of dispersed phase and constant weight of surfactant versus (b) different initial continuous-phase volumes yields a straight line. Extrapolating from experimentally determined values for the cosurfactant volume to the value corresponding to a zero-volume continuous phase allows the determination of the surfactant molar composition and the average number of ethylene oxides (EO) per nonylphenol adsorbed at the interface. Using a surfactant with the same number of ethylene oxides yields a single-surfactant microemulsion. Measurement of surfactants transmittance in the oil and water phases demonstrates that microemulsification occurs when the surfactant interfacial film is equally soluble in the two phases. Surface pressure measurements reveal that oil penetration impedes formation of O/W microemulsions with n-tetradecane or n-hexadecane as dispersed phase. Conductance, particle size, and transmittance measurements show that above a certain dispersed-phase volume percolation of the microemulsion occurs.     

Effect of Oil/Water Ratios on the Phase Behavior and the Solubilization Ability of Microemulsion Systems Containing Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate

An α–ε–β fish-like phase diagram of three phase microemulsions was proposed and used to investigate the phase behavior of the microemulsion systems sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/alcohol/oil/water at various oil/water ratios. Related physicochemical properties of the microemulsion systems were calculated. As the oil/water mass ratio increases, the solubility (ε _B) of the alcohol increases, while both the mass fraction of alcohol in the interfacial layer (A ^S) and the solubilization ability (SP ^∗) decrease. The effect of oils on the properties of the microemulsion systems was investigated.     

Hydrolysis of Hydrophobic Esters in a Bicontinuous Microemulsion Catalysed by Lipase B from Candida antarctica

Selective enzyme‐catalysed biotransformations offer great potential in organic chemistry. However, special requirements are needed to achieve optimum enzyme activity and stability. A bicontinuous microemulsion is proposed as reaction medium because of its large connected interface between oil and water domains at which a lipase can adsorb and convert substrates in the oil phase of the microemulsion. Herein, a microemulsion consisting of buffer–n‐octane–nonionic surfactant C_iE_j was used to investigate the key factors that determine hydrolyses of p‐nitrophenyl esters catalysed by the lipase B from Candida antarctica (CalB). The highest CalB activity was found around 44 °C in the absence of NaCl and substrates with larger alkyl chains were better hydrolysed than their short‐chained homologues. The CalB activity was determined using two different co‐surfactants, namely the phospholipid 1,2‐dioleoyl‐sn‐glycero‐3‐phosphocholine (DOPC) and the sugar surfactant decyl β‐D ‐glucopyranoside (β‐C₁₀G₁). The results show the CalB activity as linear function of both enzyme and substrate concentration with an enhanced activity when the sugar surfactant is used as co‐surfactant.     

Phase Behavior of n‐Butanol/n‐Octane/Water/Cationic Gemini Surfactant System

Phase diagrams of the n‐butanol/n‐octane/water/(12‐3‐12,2Br^?1) system were determined, where n‐octane usually represents oil (O), 12‐3‐12,2Br^?1 is a gemini cationic surfactant trimethylene‐1,3‐bis(dodecyldimethyl ammonium bromide) abbreviated as S, and n‐butanol is a co‐surfactant written as A. Effects of the weight ratio of gemini surfactant to cosurfactant, S/A, and of temperature on the phase behavior were studied. The microemulsion structures including O/W, bi‐continuous (B.C.), W/O, and liquid crystal were determined by the conductivity method and polarization measurement. Experimental results show that the gemini surfactant, used facilitates the formation of microemulsions compared with its corresponding monomeric surfactant, n‐dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide (DTAB). When S/A=1/1, and the total concentration of gemini surfactant and alcohol is 20–40%, microemulsions with higher water content can form in a wider region. When the temperature increases, the size and position of each type of microemulsion region changes notably.     

The effect of polymers on the phase behavior of balanced microemulsions: diblock-copolymer and comb-polymers

The effect of some amphipilic diblock-copolymers and comb-polymers on a balanced Winsor III microemulsion system is investigated with the quaternary system n-octyl-β-d-glucoside/1-octanol/n-octane/D₂O as basis system. The diblock-copolymers are polyethyleneoxide-co-polydodecenoxide (PEO _x PEDODO _y ) and polyethyleneoxide-co-polybutyleneoxide (PEO _x PEBU _y ), constituted of a straight chain hydrophilic part and a bulky hydrophobic part. Addition of the diblock-copolymer leads to an enhancement of the swelling of the middle phase by uptake of water and oil; a maximum boosting factor of 6 was obtained for PEO₁₁₁PEDODO₂₅. Nuclear magnetic resonance diffusometry yields the self-diffusion coefficients of all the components in the system. The diffusion experiments provide information on how the microstructure of the bicontinuous microemulsion changes upon addition of the polymers. The reduced self-diffusion coefficients of water and oil are sensitive to the type of polymer that is incorporated in the film. For the diblock-copolymers, as mainly used here, the reduced self-diffusion coefficient of oil and water will respond to how the polymer bends the film. When the film bends away from water, the reduced self-diffusion of the water will increase, whereas the oil diffusion will decrease due to the film acting as a barrier, hindering free diffusion. The self-diffusion coefficient of the polymer and surfactant are similar in magnitude and both decrease slightly with increasing polymer concentration.