Ionic Liquids in Microemulsions-A Concept To Extend the Conventional Thermal Stability Range of Microemulsions

A study was conducted to demonstrate the existence of high-temperature stable microemulsions under ambient pressure that showed a thermal stability ranging from 30 °C up to 150 °C. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments on ethylammonium nitrate (EAN)-in-dodecane microemulsions within a temperature range between 30 and 150 °C were demonstrated along with conductivity. All experiments followed an experimental where the amount of surfactant and cosurfactant was kept constant at 40 wt%, while the amount of EAN was increased. The high-temperature stable microemulsions showed percolation phenomena over the whole investigated temperature range. Temperature-dependent SANS measurements were performed to confirm the high-temperature stability and the existence of microemulsions and [D26]Dodecane was used to improve the scattering contrast.