Abstract
The exceptional interfacial properties of amphiphilic molecules are due to the opposing affinities of their polar and hydrophobic parts with respect to water. A remarkable consequence of these properties is that we can produce transparent and macroscopically homogeneous mixtures of oil and water, the so-called microemulsions. Such thermodynamically stable mixtures are not, of course, homogeneous on microscopic scales. Here we can observe water and oil microdomains separated by amphiphilic molecular films. Stability and structure of microemulsions are determined by properties of this amphiphilic film; in particular, by the elasticity of its curvature. The relevant parameters are its elastic modulus K and its spontaneous curvature c 0.
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Porte, G. (1999). From Giant Micelles to Fluid Membranes: Polymorphism in Dilute Solutions of Surfactant Molecules. In: Daoud, M., Williams, C.E. (eds) Soft Matter Physics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03845-1_5
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