The Dynamics and Energetics of Percolation of Water/AOT/Isooctane Microemulsions upon the Addition of Tween Nonionic Surfactants

The temperature‐induced percolation of water/AOT/isooctane microemulsions was studied in the presence of the Tween series of polyoxyethylated nonionic surfactants employing conductometry. Percolation temperatures were determined utilizing the Sigmoidal‐Boltzmann equation procedure. The results were analyzed in terms of the percolation temperature, scaling parameters, activation energy, and thermodynamics of the clustering process. It was observed that the Tween series of surfactants aided the percolation process, and the percolation parameters were found to be independent of the hydrophobic chain length of these additives. The percolation temperature was found to be dependent on the concentration of the Tweens. It was concluded that the influence of the Tween series of surfactants on the percolation phenomenon was due to the number of ethylene oxide moieties in the head groups region of the additive. The effects of these additives was described in terms of modifications in the microemulsion's interfacial layer, outer oil layer, viscosity of the water micropool, and interactions between the anionic head groups of AOT.