Evaluation of nanometer-scale droplets in a ternary o/w microemulsion using SAXS and 129Xe NMR

This study revealed a linear correlation between the nanometer-scale oil droplet sizes estimated using small angle X-ray scatterings (SAXS) and the 129Xe NMR chemical shift in an oil-in-water ternary microemulsion system comprising pentaethylene glycol mono-n-dodecyl ether, n-decane, and deuterium oxide. The absolute values of the droplet size estimated using 129Xe NMR show good agreement with those using SAXS. We also found that the results are consistent with a reported relation derived using small angle neutron scattering. The results suggest the validity of 129Xe NMR chemical shifts for investigation of colloidal systems to evaluate their internal structures’ characteristic sizes.