Sol-gel transition in worm-like micelles

Summary The statical and dynamical properties of lecithin/H₂O/cyclohexane cylindrical reverse micelles are investigated as a function of lecithin volume fraction, ϕ, and temperature at fixed water/lecithin ratio,w ₀. The viscosity data are well fitted by the Cates model when the breathing mode of micelles is taken into consideration, overlapping with the breaking and reforming mechanisms. We present some results from Brillouin-scattering experiment, performed across the sol-gel transition. In order to explain the experimentally observed ϕ-dependence of the hyperacoustic parameters, a mechanical model was developed from which the ϕ-dependence of the micelle size distribution was obtained. From a comparison with the viscosity data the entanglement length was estimated. Furthermore some new results from an incoherent quasi-elastic neutron scattering experiment are presented. The whole body of the experimental results suggests for a sol-gel transition triggered by topologic phenomena. When the lecithin volume fraction increases, the kinetic equilibrium between the breaking and reforming mechanisms of the micelles shifts the mean micelle length towards higher values and the entanglement of the micelles becomes highly favourable. The obtained results are discussed and compared with other findings in literature. Paper presented at the I International Conference on Scaling Concepts and Complex Fluids, Copanello, Italy, July 4–8, 1994.