Solubilization behavior of mixed reverse micelles: effect of surfactant component, electrolyte concentration and solvent

Abstract Solubilization of water and aqueous NaCl solution in mixed reverse micellar systems formed with anionic surfactant AOT and nonionic surfactants in cyclohexane, n -hexane, n -heptane, n -octane and isooctane was studied. It was found that, for mixed reverse micelles, a maximum solubilization capacity of water occurred in the presence of a certain concentration of NaCl electrolyte which is indicated as C max . C max increased with increasing the content and EO chain length of the nonionic surfactant, and was significantly influenced by the solvent used. The physical meaning of C max was studied using dye-solubilization and percolation conductivity measurements. The solubilization capacity of water in reverse micellar systems was determined by two factors, the stability of the microdroplet interfacial film and the size of the microdroplet. For a reverse micellar system at constant temperature, a maximum solubilization capacity of water can be obtained by regulating the surfactant composition, the electrolyte content and the solvent.