Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol.403, 77-83, 2013
A new reverse worm-like micellar system from a lecithin, multivalent carboxylic acid and oil mixture
We developed new lecithin organogels composed of reverse worm-like micelles with lecithin/multivalent carboxylic acid/oil systems, and discussed their phase behavior and rheological properties. The most important findings in this study are the following. From a screening test of many carboxylic acids for gelation, it was found that the number and position of the carboxyl groups of the multivalent carboxylic acids are the determinants for the formation of reverse worm-like micelles, and appropriate carboxylic acids such as citric acid and 1,2,3-propanetricarboxylic acid can change the lecithin/oil solution into a gel. Furthermore, upon addition of these carboxylic acids, the zero-shear viscosity of solutions increased monotonically until phase separation or cloudiness occurred. For example, when citric acid was used, the maximum zero-shear viscosity of the solution was 70,000,000 times larger than that of n-decane. From studies on the scaling of rheological parameters, it was found that further addition of multivalent carboxylic acids not only induced the formation of linear reverse worm-like micelles but also brought about their branching. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords:Lecithin organogel;Reverse worm-like micelle;Lecithin;Multivalent carboxylic acid;Small angle X-ray scattering;Phase diagram;Rheology