Abstract:

A H2O-in-oil microemulsion was further dispersed in an aq. phase contg. Pluronic F127 as a steric stabilizer, to form a specific type of double emulsion termed emulsified microemulsion (EME). The inner microemulsion phase was made from glycerol-monooleate (GMO), R(+)-limonene, EtOH and glycerol. SAXS (small x-ray scattering), PGSE-NMR (pulse gradient spin echo-NMR), elec. cond., and cryo-TEM (cryogenic-TEM) imaging techniques were used to confirm the existence of inner W/O nano-droplets after 2nd emulsification step and upon EME aging. Spherical globules of EME without long-range internal order were obsd. by the SAXS measurements and the cryo-TEM images. The av. globule size of ∼200-300 nm remained intact for at least 6 mo. [on SciFinder(R)]