A surfactant-free microemulsion composed of isopentyl acetate, n-propanol, and water

作者：Liu, Yuan; Xu, Jie^*; Deng, Huanhuan; Song, Jiaxin; Hou, Wanguo^*

来源：RSC Advances, 2018, 8(3): 1371-1377.

DOI：10.1039/c7ra12594a

• LAYERED DOUBLE HYDROXIDE
• CYCLIC VOLTAMMETRIC TECHNIQUE
• DETERGENTLESS MICROEMULSIONS
• ENZYMATIC-REACTIONS
• OIL MICROEMULSIONS
• PHASE-DIAGRAM
• SYSTEM
• MIXTURES
• MICELLES
• HEXAFLUOROPHOSPHATE

It has been demonstrated that in the absence of traditional surfactants, microemulsions can form from a ternary mixture of oil, water, and an amphi-solvent. These microemulsions are called surfactant-free microemulsions (SFMEs). To date, only a small number of SFME systems have been reported, and the current understanding of SFMEs is very limited. Herein, we report an SFME consisting of isopentyl acetate (IA), n-propanol, and water, in which IA (a simple ester compound) and n-propanol are used as the oil phase and amphi-solvent, respectively. The microstructures and structural transition of the SFME were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, fluorescence spectroscopy, and UV-visible spectroscopy techniques. Moreover, three kinds of microstructures, namely, oil-in-water (O/W), bicontinuous (BC), and water-in-oil (W/O), have been identified in the SFME, which are directly verified by cryo-TEM observations. A change in the composition of the SFME may lead to a structural transition from O/W through BC to W/O or vice versa, which is similar to the case of traditional surfactant-based microemulsions (SBMEs). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the microstructures and structural transition of an SFME obtained using a simple ester compound as the oil phase have been identified.

• 出版日期2018
• 单位青岛科技大学; 山东大学