Shape and size fluctuations of microemulsion droplets: The role of cosurfactant

Abstract

Neutron spin-echo and small-angle neutron-scattering techniques were employed to study both the size and the shape fluctuations of the di-2-ethylhexyl sulfosuccinate water-in-oil microemulsion system. We observe a softening of the bending rigidity of the interface with the addition of butanol as cosurfactant. Comparison of both techniques with the theory implies that for the simultaneous description of the shape and size fluctuations both the splay and saddle-splay bending moduli are the key parameters, and the spontaneous curvature has little influence.