title: Polyampholyte-surfactant film tuning in reverse microemulsions.
abstract: The pH-dependent influence of two different strongly alternating copolymers [poly(N,N'-diallyl-N,N'-dimethylammonium-alt-N-phenylmaleamic carboxylate) (PalPh) and poly(N,N'-diallyl-N,N'-dimethylammonium-alt-3,5-bis(carboxyphenyl)maleamic carboxylate) (PalPhBisCarb)] based on N,N'-diallyl-N,N'-dimethylammonium chloride and maleamic acid derivatives on the phase behavior of a water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsion system made from toluene-pentanol (1:1) and sodium dodecyl sulfate was investigated. It was shown that the optically clear phase range can be extended after incorporation of these copolymers, leading to an increased water solubilization capacity. Additionally, the required amount of surfactant to establish a clear w/o microemulsion depends on the pH value, which means the hydrophobicity of the copolymers. Conductivity measurements show that droplet-droplet interactions in the w/o microemulsion are decreased at acidic but increased at alkaline pH in the presence of the copolymers. From differential scanning calorimetry measurements one can further conclude that these results are in agreement with a change of the position of the copolymer in the interfacial region of the surfactant film. The more hydrophobic PalPh can be directly incorporated into the surfactant film, whereas the phenyl groups of PalPhBisCarb flip into the water core by increasing the pH value.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Chemie, Universität Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse 24-25, Haus 25, 14476 Potsdam (Golm), Germany.
authors.forename: Mabya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fechner
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koetz