Structure of colloidal particles in water-oil mixtures stabilized by polymeric emulsifiers: 2. Small angle neutron scattering investigation

Small-angle neutron coherent scattering techniques have been used to characterize the conformation of amphiphilic macromolecules in polymeric microemulsions. The radius of gyration, the molecular weight and the aggregation number of the macromolecules within the micelles have been measured using a dilution procedure in conjunction with an adjustment of the contrast factor between polymer and solvents. Additional information on the internal structure of the micelles has been obtained from the asymptotic behaviour of the scattering form factor P(q). From considerations of the respective affinities between the two copolymer sequences and the solvent mixture, plausible models are proposed for the micellar structure.