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Flow-induced nanostructuring of gelled emulsions
Valentina Preziosi1, Antonio Perazzo, Giovanna Tomaiuolo
1Department of Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering, University of Napoli Federico II, 80125 Napoli, Italy. stefano.guido@unina.it.
Soft Matter
|July 27, 2017
Summary
Shear flow transforms complex emulsions into micro-droplet suspensions. These findings reveal flow-induced changes in emulsion structure and behavior, crucial for industrial applications.
Area of Science:
- Colloid and Surface Science
- Rheology
- Materials Science
Background:
- Emulsion phase behavior is well-studied, but flow effects on morphology remain unclear.
- Complex microstructures like multilamellar and bicontinuous phases exist in emulsions at rest.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of shear flow on emulsion morphology.
- To understand the relationship between emulsion structure, flow, and interdroplet interactions.
Main Methods:
- Studying emulsions with two nonionic surfactants across various water concentrations.
- Applying shear flow and analyzing resulting microstructures using microscopy.
- Estimating yield stress via plug-core velocity profiles in capillary flow.
Main Results:
- Shear flow induces thinning filaments that break into micro-sized water droplets.
- Droplets align into string-like structures under flow.
- Emulsions exhibit yield stress, indicating weakly attractive interdroplet interactions.
Conclusions:
- Flow significantly alters complex emulsion structures, leading to droplet formation and alignment.
- Weak interdroplet attractions govern flow behavior and are consistent with at-rest observations.
- Findings offer insights into liquid-liquid systems like polymer blends.
