Effects of Temperature on the Rheological Behavior of Worm-like Micelles in a Mixed Nonionic Surfactant System

Abstract

We examined the effects of temperature on the rheological behavior of worm-like micelles in a nonionic surfactant system consisting of polyoxyethylene (10) phytosterol (PhyEO(10))/glyceryl monocaprylate (GFA-C(8))/Water. First, the phase diagram of a PhyEO(10)/GFA-C(8)/Water system was examined when the weight ratio, R, of GFA-C(8) to the total surfactants was changed keeping the total concentration of the surfactants at 5 wt%. The formation of worm-like micelles was confirmed over a wide temperature range. Next, the effect of temperature on the rheological properties of the worm-like micelles was examined. From steady-flow viscosity measurements of the worm-like micelles, it was found that the zero-shear viscosity (eta(0)) gave a maximum value more than 1,000 times greater than the minimum value in the temperature range 20-50 degrees C. Further, the temperature at which the maximum eta(0) was observed decreased with increasing R value. These results indicate that there is an optimal temperature at which the entanglement of worm-like micelles is at its greatest. From dynamic viscoelasticity measurements, it was shown that the viscoelastic behavior observed for the worm-like micelles was consistent with the Maxwell model, which is the basic model for a viscoelastic body. In addition, the plateau modulus (G(0)), which reflects the volume fraction of entangled worm-like micelles, gradually increased with increasing temperature, while the relaxation time (tau), which reflects the disentanglement time of the worm-like micelles, rapidly decreased with increasing temperature. From these results, it was clarified that, for a nonionic worm-like micelle, tau influences the change in eta(0) more strongly than G(0).