STRUCTURE AMD VISCDMETRIC BEHAVIOR OF GEL PHASES IN QUATERNARY SYSTEMS CONTAINING ANIONIC SURFACTANTS

ABSTRACT

The homogeneous viscous phases which form by mixing sodium dodecylsulphate, butanol, toluene and water in different proportions have been characterized through viscometric measurements and optical techniques. Abrupt increases in viscosity observed in some regions of the phase diagram have been correlated to the formation of birefringent phases which exhibit non-newtonian behavior. These highly swollen mesophases are shown to be of the lamellar type by the characteristic optical textures displayed under polarizing microscope. An addition of NaCl salt to the systems, upon decreasing the solubility of the surfactant in water, tends to destroy the organized structure and give rise to a diphasic system (Winsor II). Similarly, a rise in temperature increases the relative affinity of the tensio-active agent for water, producing a transition from the lamellar phase to an isotropic newtonian phase through a two-phase coexistence region.