The critical behavior of {water + AOT + decane} microemulsion with various molar ratios of water to AOT

Abstract

To examine the critical behavior of the microemulsion, we have determined the coexistence curves for two ternary microemulsion systems of {water + sodium di(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) + n-decane} with the molar ratios ω = (45.2 and 50.0) of water to AOT, respectively, by measuring refractive index at a constant pressure in the critical region. The critical exponent β and the critical amplitude B have been deduced from the coexistence curves. It was found that the values of β for both systems were consistent with the 3D-Ising exponent in a critical region. By increasing ω, i.e. the droplet size, the critical temperature and, to a lesser extent, the critical concentration decrease. The region of coexisting two phases was drastically reduced by an increase in the droplet size.