Size dependent ultrafast cooling of water droplets in microemulsions by picosecond infrared spectroscopy

The ultrafast thermal relaxation of reversed micelles in n-octane/AOT/water (where AOT denotes sodium di-2-ethylhexyl sulfosuccinate) microemulsions was investigated by time-resolved infrared pump-probe spectroscopy. This picosecond cooling process can be described in terms of heat diffusion, demons...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 88; no. 14; p. 147402
Main Authors Seifert, G, Patzlaff, T, Graener, H
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 08.04.2002
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Summary:The ultrafast thermal relaxation of reversed micelles in n-octane/AOT/water (where AOT denotes sodium di-2-ethylhexyl sulfosuccinate) microemulsions was investigated by time-resolved infrared pump-probe spectroscopy. This picosecond cooling process can be described in terms of heat diffusion, demonstrating a new method to determine the nanometer radii of the water droplets. The reverse micelles are stable against transient temperatures far above the equilibrium stability range. The amphiphilic interface layer (AOT) seems to provide an efficient heat contact between the water and the nonpolar solvent.
ISSN:0031-9007
1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/physrevlett.88.147402