Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 2, 2025

Facile Synthesis of Worm-like Micelles by Visible Light Mediated Dispersion Polymerization Using Photoredox Catalyst
Published on: June 8, 2016
Spinodal stratification in micellar films between oil and silica
Gaëlle Rondepierre1, François Lequeux2, Emilie Verneuil2
1Laboratoire Sciences et Ingénierie de la Matière Molle, ESPCI Paris, PSL University, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR 7615, F-75005 Paris, France; Laboratoire Physico-Chimie des Interfaces Complexes, ESPCI Paris, 10 rue Vauquelin, F-75231 Paris, France; and TOTAL SA, Pôle dEtudes et Recherche de Lacq, Boîte Postale 47, 64170 Lacq, France.
Abstract:
We report on the thinning mechanisms of supported films of surfactant (nTAB) solutions above the critical micellar concentration. The films are formed by pressing an oil drop immersed in an aqueous surfactant solution on a silica surface. Depending on the length of the carbon chain of the surfactant and its concentration, two modes of destabilization of the stratified films are observed. The first one proceeds by heterogeneous nucleation, characterized by the lateral expansion of the domain of lower thickness as evidenced long ago in suspended micellar films. In addition, the simultaneous stepwise thinning of several domains, called spinodal stratification, is observed here in supported films. We measure the time evolution of the thickness of the films, and we discuss the selection mechanism of each destabilization mode.

