Pressure-Responsive, Surfactant-Free CO₂-Based Nanostructured Fluids.

ABSTRACT: Microemulsions are extensively used in advanced material and chemical processing. However, considerable amounts of surfactant are needed for their formulation, which is a drawback due to both economic and ecological reasons. Here, we describe the nanostructuration of recently discovered surfactant-free, carbon dioxide (CO₂)-based microemulsion-like systems in a water/organic-solvent/CO₂ pressurized ternary mixture. "Water-rich" nanodomains embedded into a "water-depleted" matrix have been observed and characterized by the combination of Raman spectroscopy, molecular dynamics simulations, and small-angle neutron scattering. These single-phase fluids show a reversible, pressure-responsive nanostructuration; the "water-rich" nanodomains at a given pressure can be instant

SUBMITTER: Grimaldi N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5707624 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature