Polymer-Modified Bicontinuous Microemulsions Used as a Template for the Formation of Nanorods

Phase behaviors and characterization of magnetic microemulsions containing pentaalkylguanidinium-based magnetic room-temperature ionic liquids (MRTILs)

Strong magnetic susceptibility and low viscosity magnetic microemulsions containing pentaalkylguanidinium-based magnetic room temperature ionic liquids.

Polymer-modified Microemulsions – a Template for the Formation of BaSO4 Nanoparticles

Polymer-modified microemulsions can be obtained by adding polymers to a mixture consisting of water, oil, and a cosurfactant. In dependence on the type of polymer used quite different effects can be observed. On the one hand water soluble polymers can be incorporated into the individual water droplets of a water-in-oil microemulsion, or into droplet clusters, and on the other hand they can induce the formation of a sponge phase, that means a bicontinuous microemulsion. Our experiments have shown that nonionic polymers, hydrophobically modified polyampholytes, as well as polycations can induce the formation of a phase channel between the water-in-oil and the oil-in-water microemulsion. The polymer-modified microemulsions can be used as a new type of template for the formation of nanoparticles. Therefore, polymer-stabilized barium sulfate nanoparticles of quite different size and shape can be formed in the microemulsion template phase, and redispersed after solvent evaporation in water.

Direct-Imaging Cryo-SEM of Nanostructure Evolution in Didodecyldimethylammonium Bromide-Based Microemulsions

We applied cryogenic-temperature scanning electron microscopy (cryo-SEM) to perform a first direct-imaging study of single-phase microemulsions of didodecyldimethylammonium bromide (DDAB), isooctane, and water. The structural changes from a bicontinuous network to an oil-continuous structure, observed upon the addition of water to the system, are consistent with previous indirect investigations, thus validating the model of Ninham, Evans, and coworkers, published in 1984, and demonstrating the power of this novel methodology.