Dependence of the critical amount of n-hexanol required to form a water-in-oil microemulsion with the surfactant characteristics

• E Abuin ^[1] ; E Lissi ^[1] ; K Olivares ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad de Santiago de Chile

     Universidad de Santiago de Chile

     Santiago, Chile

     
• Localización: Journal of the Chilean Chemical Society (Boletín de la Sociedad Chilena de Química), ISSN-e 0717-6309, ISSN 0366-1644, Vol. 49, Nº. 3, 2004, págs. 215-217
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The amount of n-hexanol required to produce a clear microemulsion in a water-in-oil quaternary system comprising a surfactant, 2,2,4-trimethylpentane, water and the alkanol, was evaluated employing cationic, anionic, zwitterionic and neutral surfactants. The critical analytical n-hexanol concentration, the number of n-hexanol molecules at the interface per surfactant (n), and the distribution constant of the alkanol between the organic pseudophase and the interface are determined by the charge of the surfactant head, being almost independent of the alkyl chain length, the counterion and the surfactant head. The values of n are similar for cationic and anionic surfactants. However, due to a less favorable distribution between the organic solvent and the interface, critical n-hexanol concentrations are significantly higher for the anionic surfactants