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Double Emulsion Generation Using a Polydimethylsiloxane PDMS Co-axial Flow Focus Device
Published on: December 25, 2015
"Magic Numbers" in Self-Faceting of Alcohol-Doped Emulsion Droplets
Sagi Hacmon1,2, Shir R Liber1,2, Lee Shool1,2
1Physics Department, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 529002, Israel.
Abstract:
Oil-in-water emulsion droplets spontaneously adopt, below some temperature Td , counterintuitive faceted and complex non-spherical shapes while remaining liquid. This transition is driven by a crystalline monolayer formed at the droplets' surface. Here, we show that ppm-level doping of the droplet's bulk by long-chain alcohols allows tuning Td by >50 °C, implying formation of drastically different interfacial structures. Furthermore, "magic" alcohol chain lengths maximize Td . This we show to arise from self-assembly of mixed alcohol:alkane interfacial structures of stacked alkane layers, co-crystallized with hydrogen-bonded alcohol dimers. These structures are accounted for theoretically and resolved by direct cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryoTEM), confirming the proposed structures. The discovered tunability of key properties of commonly-used emulsions by minute concentrations of specific bulk additives should benefit these emulsions' technological applicability.
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