Domain and droplet sizes in emulsions stabilized by colloidal particles.
Particle-stabilized emulsions are commonly used in various industrial applications. These emulsions can present in different forms, such as Pickering emulsions or bijels, which can be distinguished by their different topologies and rheology. We numerically investigate the effect of the volume fraction and the uniform wettability of the stabilizing spherical particles in mixtures of two fluids. For this, we use the well-established three-dimensional lattice Boltzmann method, extended to allow for the added colloidal particles with non-neutral wetting properties. We obtain data on the domain sizes in the emulsions by using both structure functions and the Hoshen-Kopelman (HK) algorithm, and we demonstrate that both methods have their own (dis)advantages. We confirm an inverse dependence between the concentration of particles and the average radius of the stabilized droplets. Furthermore, we demonstrate the effect of particles detaching from interfaces on the emulsion properties and domain-size measurements.
Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, NL-5600MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Stefan
S
Frijters
Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, NL-5600MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Florian
F
Günther
Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, NL-5600MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands and Faculty of Science and Technology, Mesa+ Institute, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands.
Jens
J
Harting
D000465:Algorithms; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004655:Emulsions / Q000737:chemistry*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D017155:Wettability
D004655:Emulsions