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-beta-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, xi, and aqueous or organic domain sizes, D*) and (ii) the specific surface, Sigma. It results that a subtle change is highlighted in the TBP microemulsion structure, in terms of connectivity, according to the type of salt added.
