Dielectric permittivity of sodium di(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate–H2O–iso-octane microemulsions in terms of their microscopic structure

The clustering process in sodium di(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate–${\mathrm{H}}_2$O–iso-octane microemulsions has been studied by dielectric relaxation spectroscopy and small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). The SAXS experiments are interpreted using the pair-correlation function for the microemulsion droplets obtained from the multicomponent sticky hard-sphere-droplet model. The results indicate the presence of a strong interaction between the droplets and the solvent medium. The structural parameters extracted from this analysis are used to calculate the correction term to the Clausius-Mossotti equation for the polarizability of the microemulsion system. Good agreement is found between the observed and calculated polarizabilities.