Dynamics in an oil-continuous droplet microemulsion as seen by quasielastic scattering techniques
Abstract
This
contribution presents the direct determination of the bending elasticity of the surfactant film in an
oil-continuous microemulsion by means of neutron spin-echo spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering. The investigated
system is C10E4/water dispersed in n-octane. The values obtained for the bending elastic constants
are compared to results from indirect determinations based on the spinning drop method. While good agreement is found for κ, the values computed for differ slightly when the calculation is based on polydispersities
obtained from small angle neutron scattering experiments. Better agreement is reached using
the polydispersities calculated from dynamic light scattering
data. Furthermore,
problems which seem
to be specific for oil-continuous systems are addressed.