Thin adhesive oil films lead to anomalously stable mixtures of water in oil

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Nannette, Claire; Baudry, Jean; Chen, Anqi; Song, Yiqiao; Shglabow, Abdulwahed; Bremond, Nicolas; Demoulin, Damien; Walters, Jamie; Weitz, David A.; Bibette, Jerome
• 署名单位: Universite PSL; Ecole Superieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris (ESPCI); Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Harvard University; Harvard University; Harvard University Medical Affiliates; Massachusetts General Hospital; Harvard University; Harvard University
• 刊物名称: SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0036-8550
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adj6728
• 发表日期: 2024-04-12
• 页码: 209-213
• 关键词: liquid-films; surfactant; DYNAMICS; emulsion; interface; STABILITY; frequency; droplets; rupture

摘要

Oil and water can only be mixed by dispersing droplets of one fluid in the other. When two droplets approach one another, the thin film that separates them invariably becomes unstable, causing the droplets to coalesce. The only known way to avoid this instability is through addition of a third component, typically a surfactant, which stabilizes the thin film at its equilibrium thickness. We report the observation that a thin fluid film of oil separating two water droplets can lead to an adhesive interaction between the droplets. Moreover, this interaction prevents their coalescence over timescales of several weeks, without the use of any surfactant or solvent.