Effect of radiation on interfacial properties and phase behavior of ionic liquid-based microemulsions

Recently, controlled synthesis of nanoparticles through the use of microemulsions combined with electron-beam or γ irradiation has garnered interest. However, there are rare research about the effect of these radiations on the interfacial properties and phase behavior of microemulsions. Therefore, in this work, we prepared ionic liquid-based microemulsions (IL-C n -Ms) combining 3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate having different alkyl chain lengths, TX-100, and deionized water and then irradiated them with a high-energy electron beam . The effects of radiation and alkyl chain length on microemulsion microregions, droplet size, surface tension, and solubilization were investigated in detail. Radiation had a negligible effect on the interfacial properties and phase behavior of the IL-C n -Ms. Interestingly, the droplet size of IL-C n -Ms increased with the alkyl chain length of the ionic liquid due to the IL interactions at the IL-C n -Ms interface. Our work provides a preliminary database and presents new opportunities for the combination of ionic liquid-based microemulsions and radiation technology.