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Abstract
Microemulsions are thermodynamically stable dispersions of two otherwise non-miscible fluids—usually “oil” and “water”—that are mediated by a surfactant. The surfactant molecules have to be amphiphilic, i.e., one end of a molecule is soluble in oil and the other end in water. The surfactant forms an interface layer between oil and water in the microemulsion. The total area of this interface is basically given by the amount of surfactant, and for a given topology of the oil/water regions, it controls their dimensions.
Notes
1Note that this relation applies to the concentration in the microemulsion phase. In general the mixing of arbitrary amounts of “oil,” “water,” and surfactant will lead to a three phase system where excess oil and water are expelled from the microemulsion phase (in the middle of a test tube—see Figure 1).
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