Microscopic model for microemulsions

Abstract

The authors introduce a new microscopic model for microemulsions. The model applies to continuum fluids as well as to lattice systems. In a mean-field treatment they show that, below a critical temperature, a microemulsion is formed. Different geometrical structures of the microemulsion (lamellar, tubular and cubical) also appear. Explicit expressions for the surface tension at the three-phase coexistence are found for temperatures equal and close to zero. The surface tension is either zero or very low, depending on details of the model.