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Procedia Economics and Finance 00 (2012) 000000

Titration from emulsions to microemulsions observerd by laser

scattering and transmision.

Daniel Gonzlez 1,a, A. Ramirez-Saito 1,b, Chuy Martinez 1,c, Alejandro Rivera 1,d,
Josu Elisea 1,e .
expliquenme@gmail.com a, msaito@ifisica.uaslp.mx b, maria.de.jesus.martinez.lopez@gmail.com c,
alexerreme@gmail.com d, jjosue.elisea@gmail.com e
1
Instituto de Fsica Manuel Sandoval Vallarta, Universidad Autnoma de San Luis Potos, lvaro Obregn 64, 78000 San Luis Potos,
S.L.P., Mexico

Abstract

A stable, transparent emulsion known as a microemulsion is prepared from a milky white emulsion by adding an agent
called a cosurfactant. A laser is used to locate the transition point from a cloudy to a clear suspension.

"Keywords: Emulsion, Microemulsion, Surfactant, Cosurfactant, Titration;"

1. Introduction

Emulsions and microemulsions are both stable dispersions of oil-in-water or water-in-oil. Surfactants are
the principal agents that enable oil and water to mix. Emulsions are stable dispersions of immiscible liquids,
but they are not thermodynamically stable. We say that they are kinetically stable. These type of dispersions
are sometimes called microemulsions. Microemulsions, on the other hand, are thermodynamically stable.
While some people insist that microemulsions must be transparent, that is not really a critical part of their
description. In the short course we will give a systematic introduction to the mechanisms of kinetic
stabilization of macroemulsions, show how macroemulsions are related to microemulsions, and show how to
systematically select a surfactant system to make a stable emulsion or microemulsion.
We made a titration based on water-KOH solution, oleic acid, n-dodecane and 1-pentanol.A red laser beam
was used to see light transmission on our sample thought all the experiment.

The term emulsion refers to a liquid-liquid mixture in which the liquid "drops" are of colloidal dimensions.
Surfactants are known as emulsifiers in such systems because they enhance the formation of emulsions from
two distinct phases. Homogenized milk is a common emulsion, as is mayonnaise, in which the egg yolk lipids
coat the oil droplets as a monolayer. The emulsion in this experiment is essentially a water-dodecane
emulsion, and the potassium salt (KOH) of oleic acid acts as the emulsifier.
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2. Procedure

2.1. Base Solution

We started with a solution of 2.0-M of KOH, 1.5 mL (which we call s-part1) and we added 7 mL of
deionized water and started stirring. A solution of 0.208 g of oleic acid and 1.5mL of n-dodecane was
prepared apart and poured to the KOH-water solution after that as we intensified stirring.

2.2. Titration set up

Buret (with 1-pentanol)

Glass vial (with base solution)

Red Laser

Stir bar

a Magnetic Stirrer

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of experimental setup for preparing microemulsion

from a coarse emulsion and detecting endpoint with a laser.

The apparatus of titration was set up by clamping the sample cell on a magnetic stirrer base and adding a
stir bar to cell as shown in Fig. 1. Laser was positioned so the beam passed through the sample cell. Burette
was filled with 1-pentanol.
Laser beam was carefully placed so the light line was away from the stirring vortex.

2.3. Titration process

Titration was made by adding titrant (1-pentanol) one drop at a time. Endpoint of the titration was find
when light scattering attained a minimum. We used a video camera placed at 90 of scattering source (sample
cell) so we were able to observe changes in our solution. .
After observing the relatively clear, nonscattering microemulsion, we continued dropwise titration to
produce our ending emulsion , and observed the increased light scattering intensity.
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3. Results and Discussion

Mixing together polar (hydrophilic) and nonpolar (hydrophobic) liquids generally creates a heterogeneous
mixture that has components that are clearly separated into two phases, such as oil droplets in water. This type
of mixture is crested with the mixture of n-dodecane and water. Because water is highly polar and n-dodecane
is nonpolar, the two liquids do not mix together well. Even after through mixing, the two liquids always
separate into distinct phases.
The addition of compounds known as soaps or surfactants, however, can stabilize globules in these
heterogeneous solutions. A surfactant, or surface-active agent, accumulates at the interface between polar and
nonpolar phases and acts to reduce the surface tension. Surfactants stabilize polar-nonpolar mixtures because
they are amphiphilic, meaning that they have polar-attracting and nonpolar-attracting regions. The
hydrocarbon chains of the surfactant typically align perpendicularly to the interface as shown in Fig. 2;

Polar (hydrophilic) phase Surfactant molecule

Nonpolar (hydrophobic) phase Polar end Nonpolar end

Fig. 2. Surfactant molecules aligned at the interface between polar and nonpolar phases.

The polar end of the molecule aligns in the hydrophilic phase and nonpolar end aligns in the hydrophobic
phase. The oleic acid used in this experiment is a surfactant, and the structure is shown in Fig. 3.

Oleic acid (9-octadecanoic acid)

Fig. 3. Molecular structure of the surfactant (oleic acid).

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Most emulsions separate into two phases overtime, but under certain conditions, stable emulsions known as
microemulsions can be prepared that do not show a tendency to separate (1). As the name suggests,
microemulsions have dispersed phases composed of very small particles. The use of dynamic light scattering
has allowed researchers to estimate particle size for microemulsions to be approximately 5 nm (2,3) .
A stable, transparent microemulsion is prepared has been prepared in this experiment by adding 1-pentanol to
the original milky white emulsion, which is called a coarse or hard emulsion. 1-Pentanol acts as cosurfactant
in this experiment because it works with the surfactant to stabilize the emulsion. The cosurfactant plays a
complex role in the formation

4. Conclusions

A stable, transparent microemulsion is prepared has been prepared in this experiment by adding 1-pentanol to
the original milky white emulsion, which is called a coarse or hard emulsion. 1-Pentanol acts as cosurfactant
in this experiment because it works with the surfactant to stabilize the emulsion. The cosurfactant plays a
complex role in the formation of the microemulsion (4) . Similar to the surfactant, the cosurfactant (1-pentanol)
has a polar end and a nonpolar end, and for this reason it accumulates at the interface between the polar and
nonpolar phases along with the surfactant. Because the cosurfactant is much smaller molecule that the
surfactant, cosurfactant molecules can fit between the surfactant molecules (Fig. 4). Thus, the cosurfactant
helps lower the surface tension between the two phases more than the surfactant does alone and helps promote
the formation of smaller droplets of the nonpolar phase (n-dodecane).
Coarse emulsions strongly scatter light, but microemulsions scatter light only very weakly, because of their
particle sizes. As the cosurfactant 1-pentanol is added, light scattering decreases and reaches a minimum at
the transmission to a microemulsion. Thus, laser light scattering can be used forecast and detect the transition
between the coarse emulsion and the microemulsion.

Surfactant

Courfactant

Fig. 4. Cosurfactant molecules accumulated among surfactant molecules at the interface between polar and nonpolar phases.
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Acknowledgements

I want to tank first of all Dr. Jos Arauz from physics institute for making this all possible by giving us
the tools needed to accomplish this experiment, the knowledge needed to be achieve it and the
incentive to look forward to expand our minds with new valuable knowledge.
Dr. ngeles Saito for leading us across this journey of discovering and learning the phenomenon of
nature, and doing it just the right way, I am very thankful to you.
Special thanks to Chuy Martinez, Alejandro Rivera, Josu Elisea, for hard working and cooperation.
I learned that we belong to different families across our lives, some of them are temporary, like work
groups of people who made everything possible and fun.

References

[1] Rosano, H.L., Lan, T., Weiss, A. J. Colloid Int. Sci. 72 (1979) 233.
[2] Cazabat, A.M., Langevin, D., Pouchelon, A. J. Colloid Int. Sci. 73 (1980) 1.
[3] Bellocq, A.M., Fourche, G. Optica Acta 27 (1980) 1629.
[4] Mayers, D. Surfactant Science and Technology. VCH Publishers; New York: (1988); 176.
[5] Richard N. Zare et. al.,Stanford University, Stanford California; Laser Experiments for Beginners p.40-44.