Journal of Physical Chemistry, Vol.100, No.44, 17558-17562, 1996
Temperature-Dependence of Emulsion Morphologies and the Dispersion Morphology Diagram .3. Inversion Hysteresis Lines for Emulsions of Middle and Bottom Phases of the System C6H13(Oc2H4)(2)Oh/N-Tetradecane/Water
The morphologies and phase volume fractions at which inversion occurred for (macro)emulsions formed by the middle-phase microemulsion (M) and water-rich bottom phase (B) were determined by means of electrical conductivity measurements for the amphiphile/oil/"water" system C6H13(OC2H4)(2)OH/n-tetradecane/aqueous 10 mM NaCl at temperatures from 25 degrees C down to 12 degrees C, near the lower critical end-point temperature (T-lc = 10.4 degrees C). The M/B and B/M morphologies and their inversion hysteresis lines conformed to the previously postulated dispersion morphology diagram; that is, within experimental uncertainties, the two emulsion inversion lines in phase volume-temperature space met at a "critical point" that coincided with the lower critical end point for the phases.