Critical behavior of ionic micellar systems at different salt concentrations

Critical behavior on approaching a special critical point in a complex fluid

The critical behavior of osmotic susceptibility is investigated in the re-entrant complex mixture 1-propanol (P)+water (W)+potassium chloride (KCl) through light-scattering measurements. The measurements are performed on approaching a special critical point [i.e., the double critical point (DCP)] in this mixture, along the line of upper critical solution temperatures (T(U)'s), by varying t from the high temperature one-phase region. The light-scattering data analysis emphasizes the need for corrections to the asymptotic Ising behavior and yields very large magnitudes for the correction-to-scaling amplitudes A(1) and A(2), with the first-correction amplitude A(1) being negative, signifying a nonmonotonic crossover behavior of the susceptibility exponent in this mixture. For the T(U) closest to the DCP, the effective susceptibility exponent gamma(eff) displays a nonmonotonic crossover from its nearly doubled three dimensional (3D)-Ising value toward its nearly double mean-field value with an increase in t. While for that far away from the DCP, it displays a nonmonotonic crossover from its single-limit Ising value toward a value slightly lower than its mean-field value of 1 with an increase in t. This feature of the effective susceptibility exponent is interpreted in terms of the possibility of a nonmonotonic crossover to the mean-field value from lower values in the nonasymptotic high t region. The renormalized Ising regime extends over a larger t range for the sample (or T(U)) closest to the DCP when compared to that far away from it. The in-between T(U)'s display a trend toward shrinkage in the renormalized Ising regime as T(U) shifts away from the DCP. Nevertheless, the crossover to the mean-field behavior is completed only beyond t>10(-2) for the T(U)'s studied. The observed crossover behavior is attributed to the presence of strong ion-induced clustering in this mixture, as revealed by various structure probing techniques, while the observed unique trend in the crossover behavior is discussed in terms of the varying influence of the DCP on the critical behavior along the T(U) line. The crossover behavior for the T(U)'s is pronounced and more sharp compared to the T(L)'s (lower critical solution temperatures) [U. K. Pradeep, J. Chem. Phys. 129, 134506 (2008)] in this mixture, although there exists no difference in the growth of the mesoscale clusters in the lower and upper one-phase regions in this mixture. Our observations suggest the need to look at the crossover behavior probably from two perspectives, namely, the dielectric effect and the clustering effect. The effective susceptibility exponent as a function of the field variable t(UL), instead of the conventional variable t, displays a sharp nonmonotonic crossover from its asymptotic 3D-Ising value ( approximately 1.24) toward a value slightly lower than its nonasymptotic mean-field value of 1, as that observed in the t analysis for the T(U) far away from the influence of the DCP.

Clouding: Origin of Phase Separation in Oppositely Charged Polyelectrolyte/Surfactant Mixed Solutions

The phase behavior in the system of cationic modified poly(vinyl alcohol) (CPVA)-sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS)-water has been investigated. Samples were found phase separated near electroneutral mixing at CPVA concentrations < or =6%, while in a medium CPVA concentration of 7-12%, the phase separation disappeared and the system transformed into bluish homogeneous solution. At > or =13% CPVA concentrations, the mixed systems became colorless homogeneous. Preclouding phenomenon was observed in 5-8% CPVA-SDS mixed systems at an electroneutral mixing ratio. The addition of inorganic salts, such as Na2SO4, NaCl, NaBr, and NaSCN, could exclude the bluish and phase separation phenomenon that was found to be caused by the increase of clouding point in these systems. The clouding phenomenon was proven to be the origin of the phase separation in the CPVA-SDS mixed system. The ability for the inorganic salts to increase the clouding point follows the order of the Hofmeister series.

Critical phenomenon of nonaqueous microemulsion (AOT/DMA/decane)

The critical phenomenon of nonaqueous microemulsion was studied for the first time. The coexistence curves of (T,n), (T,phi), and (T,psi) (n and phi are refractive index and volume fraction, respectively; psi is defined as psi=phi/[phi+phi(c)(1-phi)/(1-phi(c))]) for a ternary microemulsion [phi (AOT-DMA)+(1-phi) decane] at constant pressure and a constant molar ratio (omega=2.86) of DMA to AOT have been determined within about 7 K from the critical temperature T(c) by measurements of refractive index. The critical exponent beta has been deduced from (T,n), (T,phi), and (T,psi) coexistence curves within 1 K below T(c). They all were 0.329+/-0.005 and were consistent with the 3D Ising value. The experimental results in a temperature range of (T(c)-T)<7 K also have been analyzed to obtain critical amplitudes and the Wegner correction terms, to examine the diameters of the coexistence curves.

Influence of charge fluctuations on the critical behavior of electrolyte solutions

The effective Hamiltonian of electrolyte solution near its critical point is constructed. The vapor-liquid critical point is investigated in detail. The strong dependence of the Landau-Ginsburg number on the concentration of electrolyte is demonstrated. It is shown that the charge fluctuations in electrolytes essentially suppress the fluctuation of the order parameter and broaden the region of classical behavior.