Heriot-Watt Mathematics Report Series
HWM00-7, 12 Apr 2000
Effective Interface Hamiltonians for Unbinding Transitions in Ternary Amphiphilic Mixtures
F Clarysse and C J Boulter
Abstract
We outline an analytic method for deriving effective interfacial models,
suitable for describing unbinding behaviour in ternary amphiphilic
mixtures, from underlying non-critical bulk models. Herein we
concentrate on deriving interfacial properties (the surface tension and
rigidity coefficients) for the simple case of a free
oil-phase/microemulsion interface. This calculation allows us to
explicitly demonstrate the difference between the interfacial tension,
which is a uniquely defined quantity, and the rigidities which are
highly sensitive to the choice of interface location definition.
We conclude by describing how the model derivation may be extended to
include the effect of an external surface, which is appropriate for the
study of wetting in a confined ternary mixture. We briefly summarize the
results of a recent study of wetting at such a surface for which a rich
phase diagram is predicted.
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Publication
A N Smith, C J Boulter
, Effective interface Hamiltonians for unbinding transitions in ternary amphiphilic mixtures, Fluid Phase Equilibria, 185, 111-119, (2001).
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