Is the AOT/water/oil system really simple? Conductivity measurements in ionic and nonionic microemulsions

Conductivities of the AOT and nonionic C12E5 systems are reported. A preculiarity of the AOT system is the possibility to prepare w/o microemulsions with more than 50 wt% of water, which show, however, a low conductivity. In contrast, a nonionic system with comparable amounts of water and oil displays a conductivity several orders of magnitude larger. Upon addition of salt the conductivity pattern of the AOT system resembles that of a nonionic with opposite temperature dependence.