Studying the Influence of a Particle in the Liquid-Liquid Interface
Open Access
- Author:
- Batista Capaverde Silva, Leonardo
- Area of Honors:
- Materials Science and Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Lauren Dell Zarzar, Thesis Supervisor
Robert Allen Kimel, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Pickering Emulsions
Particle Functionalization
Interfaces
Liquids
Active Matter - Abstract:
- From the mixture of the ingredients in salad dressing to the several different components in the blood stream, there are multiple liquid-liquid interface interactions in our daily lives. One less studied approach to stabilize these different components is the use of colloidal particles in the liquid-liquid interface to decrease the contact area between the two liquids, lowering the interfacial energy of that system. This work is divided into two main sections. In the first study, the creation of a stable (for more than 2 months) double oil-oil emulsion in water is explored through the creation of silica particles with hydrophobic and hydrophilic end groups, allowing more configuration possibilities for droplet shapes in that system. In the second study, the droplet speed enhancement upon particle addition in the oil-surfactant solution is investigated, with droplet speeds reaching up to 300 µm/s with a 0.5 wt% silica particle in Triton-X, corresponding to a more than double speed increase. Although the exact mechanism is unknown, the results point to the permanent asymmetry of the droplet leading to enhancement of the Marangoni flow. A better understanding of the mechanisms of the phenomena was achieved, which can be of use in future research in the field.