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Nanoemulsions obtained via bubble-bursting at a compound interface

Nature Physics volume 10, pages 606–612 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

Bursting of bubbles at an air/liquid interface is a familiar occurrence relevant to foam stability, cell cultures in bioreactors and ocean–atmosphere mass transfer. In the latter case, bubble-bursting leads to the dispersal of sea-water aerosols in the surrounding air. Here we show that bubbles bursting at a compound air/oil/water-with-surfactant interface can disperse submicrometre oil droplets in water. Dispersal results from the detachment of an oil spray from the bottom of the bubble towards water during bubble collapse. We provide evidence that droplet size is selected by physicochemical interactions between oil molecules and the surfactants rather than by hydrodynamics. We demonstrate the unrecognized role that this dispersal mechanism may play in the fate of the sea surface microlayer and of pollutant spills by dispersing petroleum in the water column. Finally, our system provides an energy-efficient route, with potential upscalability, for applications in drug delivery, food production and materials science.

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Figure 1: Bubble-bursting at an air/oil/water interface.
Figure 2: High-speed observations of the bursting process and schematic descriptions for the dispersal mechanism.
Figure 3: Influence of oil layer thickness (hI), bubble diameter (db), viscosity of oil (ηo) and carbon number of the oil (Nc) on the radius (r) of the submicrometre-sized droplets.
Figure 4: Sketch of different wetting states and formation of petroleum dispersal and polymeric submicrometre particles.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the contribution of S. C. Russev from Department of Solid State Physics & Microelectronics, Sofia University, Bulgaria, who helped us with the interpretation of the ellipsometric data and R. D. Stanimirova from Department of Chemical Engineering, Sofia University, Bulgaria, who performed measurements in a Langmuir trough and some spreading experiments. We also acknowledge R. K. Prud’homme from Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (Princeton University) for the use of the Malvern Zetasizer. T.D.G. and S.D.S. acknowledge the financial support of EU project FP7-REGPOT-2011-1, ‘Beyond Everest’. M.R. acknowledges D. Langevin for fruitful discussions. This research was made possible in part by the CMEDS grant from BP/The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Matthieu Roché

    Present address: Present address: Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université Paris Sud-CNRS, 91405 Orsay, France.,

  2. Daniele Vigolo

    Present address: Present address: Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA

    Jie Feng, Matthieu Roché, Daniele Vigolo & Howard A. Stone

  2. Unilever Research and Development, 3133AT Vlaardingen, The Netherlands

    Luben N. Arnaudov & Simeon D. Stoyanov

  3. Laboratory of Physical Chemistry and Colloid Science, Wageningen University, 6703 HB Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Simeon D. Stoyanov

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE, UK

    Simeon D. Stoyanov

  5. Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sofia University, Sofia 1164, Bulgaria

    Theodor D. Gurkov

  6. Department of Solid State Physics and Microelectronics, Faculty of Physics, Sofia University, Sofia 1164, Bulgaria

    Gichka G. Tsutsumanova

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  1. Jie Feng
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Contributions

J.F., M.R., L.N.A., S.D.S. and H.A.S. conceived of and planned the experiments. J.F. executed the experimental work. J.F., M.R. and H.A.S. wrote the manuscript. J.F. and D.V. analysed the DLS data. J.F., M.R., L.N.A., S.D.S., T.D.G. and H.A.S. analysed and interpreted the experimental results. T.D.G. and G.G.T. performed ellipsometry measurements. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Howard A. Stone.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Feng, J., Roché, M., Vigolo, D. et al. Nanoemulsions obtained via bubble-bursting at a compound interface. Nature Phys 10, 606–612 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys3003

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