Weak Micelle-Like Aggregation in Ternary Liquid Mixtures as Revealed by Conductivity, Surface Tension and Light Scattering

A very small concentration of NaBr is added to ternary, transparent, and thermodynamically stable mixtures of water, ethanol, and octanol. Measuring the electrical conductivity along lines with constant water to ethanol ratios reveals remarkable composition dependencies similar to those found in classical surfactant-based microemulsions. Indeed, light-scattering experiments along the same composition lines and additional surface tension measurements confirm the onset of aggregation and possibly direct, bicontinuous, and reversed structures in these surfactant-free systems such as in classical microemulsions.