title: Charging Dynamics of Aerosol OT Inverse Micelles.
abstract: Aerosol OT (AOT) is a commonly used surfactant and charging agent in nonpolar liquids. Properties such as the conductivity of AOT suspensions in nonpolar liquids and the behavior of charged AOT inverse micelles at interfaces have been studied recently, but still little is known about the generation dynamics of charged AOT inverse micelles. In this article, the generation dynamics of charged AOT inverse micelles in dodecane are investigated with transient current measurements. At low applied voltages, the generation rate is sufficiently fast to maintain the equilibrium concentration of charged inverse micelles, such that the current scales proportionally with the applied voltage. However, above a threshold voltage the current becomes limited by the generation of charged inverse micelles. Al2O3-coated electrodes are used to achieve these high-voltage current measurements while reducing surface generation currents. The dependency of the resulting generation-limited currents with the micelle concentration and the liquid volume is compatible with a bulk disproportionation mechanism. The measured currents are analyzed using a model based on drift, generation, and recombination of charged inverse micelles and the corresponding generation and recombination rates of charged AOT inverse micelles have been determined.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent University , B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Masoumeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karvar
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent University , B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.|Center for Nano- and Biophotonics, Ghent University , B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Filip
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Strubbe
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent University , B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.|Center for Nano- and Biophotonics, Ghent University , B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Filip
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Beunis
authors.affiliation: Merck Chemicals Ltd, University Parkway, Chilworth, Southampton, SO16 7QD, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kemp
authors.affiliation: Merck Chemicals Ltd, University Parkway, Chilworth, Southampton, SO16 7QD, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Merck Chemicals Ltd, University Parkway, Chilworth, Southampton, SO16 7QD, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goulding
authors.affiliation: Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent University , B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.|Center for Nano- and Biophotonics, Ghent University , B-9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Kristiaan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Neyts