Highly homogeneous nanostructured templates based on environmental friendly microemulsion for nanomaterials processing

Highly homogeneous nanostructured templates in the system Water/Polyoxyethylene(4)lauryl ether (Brij 30)/Pinus Oil have been designed for nanomaterials processing by studying the phase behaviour and influence of several physico-chemical parameters such as water/oil ratio (R), water/alcohol ratio (r), temperature, surfactant concentration and nickel salt on the phase transition. A Winsor I -> III -> II inversion was promoted by using isopropanol cosolvent, at different r, from 1 to 10. For r=4, as the temperature is increased the Winsor II domain is enhanced subsequently, but no phase transition by temperature change has been revealed. While a narrowing of Winsor II microemulsion region has been noticed, as a result of Ni(II) salt addition by increasing the concentration, still no phase transitions promoted by their presence have been obtained. The Water/Isopropanol/Brij 30/Pinus Oil formulations are promoted as potential synthesis templates for both inorganic and organic materials or as an efficient extraction system for pollutants removal from aqueous media. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.