Layer with reduced viscosity at water-oil interfaces probed by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

The two-dimensional diffusion of isolated molecular tracers at the water-n-alkane interface was studied with fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. The interfacial diffusion coefficients of larger tracers with a hydrodynamic radius of 4.0 nm agreed well with the values calculated from the macroscopic viscosities of the two bulk phases. However, for small molecule tracers with hydrodynamic radii of only 1.0 and 0.6 nm, notable deviations were observed, indicating the existence of an interfacial region with reduced effective viscosity and increased mobility.