Pressure and temperature effects on the phase transition from a dense droplet to a lamellar structure in a ternary microemulsion

A small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) study of a ternary microemulsion composed of AOT [sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate], water and n-decane was undertaken in order to clarify the phase behavior and the feature of the corresponding structural transition from a dense droplet to a lamellar structure with increasing pressure and temperature. The volume fractions of water and decane were fixed to be equal and the volume fraction of AOT against the whole volume (φs) was selected to be 0.209 and 0.230 in order to compare results with those obtained by small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). The pressure was varied between 1 and 800 bar under controlled temperature at 20, 25, 29, or 33 °C. Under all conditions applied, the phase transition from the droplet structure to the lamellar structure was observed. The results of analysis of the SAXS profiles indicated that the short-range adhesive potential between droplets becomes more intense with increasing pressure.