Liquid Interface Functionalized by an Ion Extractant: The Case of Winsor III Microemulsions
Résumé
The present work shows for the first time that tributylphosphate (TBP), the major ion extractant used in the
reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, acts efficiently as a cosurfactant in the formation of three-phase microemulsions.
The system is composed of water, dodecane, TBP, and an extremely hydrophilic sugar surfactant, n-octyl-β-glucoside.
The investigation of the three-phase region (Winsor III), the so-called “fish-cut” diagrams, revealed that TBP exhibits
cosurfactant behavior comparable to that of classical cosurfactants n-pentanol and n-hexanol. Upon increasing the
cosurfactant/surfactant molar ratio, TBP appears to be more efficient than single-chain alcohols in raising the
spontaneous curvature of the adsorbed surfactant film toward oil. This is a direct consequence of the different lateral
packing of TBP and n-pentanol or n-hexanol in the mixed surfactant film, with TBP having three alkyl chains and so a
higher hydrophobic volume than those n-alcohols. This property is underlined by the interfacial film composition, which
is determined by the chemical analysis of the excess phases. It gives a surfactant to cosurfactant molar ratio of 1:1 for
TBP and 1:3 for n-hexanol. Moreover, the local microstructure of the microemulsion becomes dependent on the
addition of salt when n-alcohol is replaced by TBP. A specific salt effect is also observed and rationalized in terms of the
complexing property of TBP and Hofmeister’s effects. Treatment of the small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) data
gives access to (i) the length scales characterizing the microemulsions (i.e., the persistence length, ξ, and aqueous or
organic domain sizes, D*) and (ii) the specific surface, Σ. It results that a subtle change is highlighted in the TBP
microemulsion structure, in terms of connectivity, according to the type of salt added.