Characterization of a Bicontinuous Microemulsion Flowing along a Planar Surface

Abstract

We present a study on a bicontinuous microemulsion exposed to a planar hydrophilic surface with a flow field along the interface using neutron reflectometry. The microemulsion displays a lamellar interface ordering. The range of apparent shear rates was ranging from 8 to 600s-1. In this range, no considerable structural change of the lamellar structure was observed. This finding supports previous rheological experiments where the so-called lubrication effect was foundan unchanged facilitated flow of the lamellar structure along the surfacefor a wide range of shear rates.