SANS Study of Polymer-Linked Droplets

• Published in: Langmuir Vol. 23; no. 19; pp. 9559 - 9562
• Main Authors: Maccarrone, S, Frielinghaus, H, Allgaier, J, Richter, D, Lindner, P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 11.09.2007
• Subjects: Chemistry; Colloidal state and disperse state; Emulsions. Microemulsions. Foams; Exact sciences and technology; General and physical chemistry; Micelles. Thin films; Surface physical chemistry; Separation; Attraction interaction; Telechelic polymer; Micelle; Models; Surfactant; Aggregate; Droplet; Microemulsion; Structure; Transients
• ISSN: 0743-7463; 1520-5827
• DOI: 10.1021/la7020353

We report experimental results obtained from SANS on microemulsion droplets connected by a telechelic polymer. Thanks to its ability to anchor droplets through its short stickers, the addition of this polymer leads to the formation of transient aggregates. Measurements were performed on samples at low surfactant content in such a way that the droplets appear to be isolated with a separation distance longer than the end-to-end distance of the polymer. The locally spherical structure of the micelles is unchanged in size upon polymer addition whereas the large rise in scattered intensity at low Q is due to the induced effective attractive interaction between droplets. The fitting model that we propose allows a quantitative description of the bridging effect.