A Study of Chemical Reactions and Interactions in Microemulsion and Surfactant Phases

摘要

Carried out was a variety of chemical and physical studies in microemulsions phases formed from water, surfactant, oil, and an alcohol cosurfactant. These are istropic, stable, clear phases of low viscosity. Most of the work was performed in oil in water microemulsions consisting of oil droplets in an aqueous continuous phase. Cationic, anionic and nonionic surfactants have been employed. From transport measurements examined were the location of solutes, their diffusion rates, and degree of counterion dissociation in ionic systems. An electro chemical method for the determination of droplet size has been developed. From kinetic studies of phosphate ester-nucleophile reactions, a quantitative ion-exchange model has been developed. This model has been shown to be consistent with both the kinetic data and acid-base indicator equilibrium data. Surface bound aldoxinate nucleophile has been shown to be more effective than hydroxide in ester hydrolysis. Other reactions of inorganic ions have also been examined, and borohydride ion has been shown to react with chloroethyl ethyl sulfide in a cationic microemulsion. These results clearly demonstrate the utility of microemulsion for both fundamental studies and for application to such problems as solubilization, catalysis, and chemical decontamination. (Author)