Single bubble and drop techniques for characterizing foams and emulsions

V Chandran Suja; M Rodríguez-Hakim; J Tajuelo; G G Fuller

doi:10.1016/j.cis.2020.102295

Single bubble and drop techniques for characterizing foams and emulsions

Adv Colloid Interface Sci. 2020 Dec:286:102295. doi: 10.1016/j.cis.2020.102295. Epub 2020 Oct 18.

Authors

V Chandran Suja¹, M Rodríguez-Hakim², J Tajuelo³, G G Fuller⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA. Electronic address: vinny@stanford.com.
² Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA; Department of Materials, ETH Zurich, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 5, Zurich 8093, Switzerland.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA; Departamento de Física Interdisciplinar, Universidad Nacional de Eduación a Distancia UNED, Madrid 28040, Spain.
⁴ Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA. Electronic address: ggf@stanford.edu.

PMID: 33161297
DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2020.102295

Abstract

The physics of foams and emulsions has traditionally been studied using bulk foam/emulsion tests and single film platforms such as the Scheludko cell. Recently there has been a renewed interest in a third class of techniques that we term as single bubble/drop tests, which employ isolated whole bubbles and drops to probe the characteristics of foams and emulsions. Single bubble and drop techniques provide a convenient framework for investigating a number of important characteristics of foams and emulsions, including the rheology, stabilization mechanisms, and rupture dynamics. In this review we provide a comprehensive discussion of the various single bubble/drop platforms and the associated experimental measurement protocols including the construction of coalescence time distributions, visualization of the thin film profiles and characterization of the interfacial rheological properties. Subsequently, we summarize the recent developments in foam and emulsion science with a focus on the results obtained through single bubble/drop techniques. We conclude the review by presenting important venues for future research.

Keywords: Coalescence time distributions; Emulsions; Foams; Interfacial rheology; Thin film interferometry.

Publication types

Review