Reactions in microemulsions: Effect of thermal fluctuations on reaction kinetics

In this paper we address the generic effects arising from the interplay of thermal fluctuations and reactions. This is accomplished by considering specifically the kinetics of reactions effected in microemulsion media. In the first part of this paper we consider the kinetics of the reaction A+B→O/ in bicontinuous microemulsion media, wherein the solutes A and B are assumed to be preferentially attracted to water and oil, respectively, and O/ constitutes an inert product. We formulate the diffusion and reaction of these solutes in a field-theoretical framework within which the fluctuations of the background microemulsion are embedded. We then employ mean-field arguments and a perturbative Wilson-type renormalization group (RG) approach to discern the relevance, at long length scales, of the background fluctuations. Our analysis indicates that the dynamic fluctuations of the microemulsion prove irrelevant in impacting the asymptotic kinetics of the reaction. In view of the fact that our field-theoretic appr...