CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF MACROEMULSIONS STABILIZED BY INTERFACIAL COLLOIDS

Here we discuss macroemulsions stabilized by interfacial colloidal fil ms, in terms of the basic processes of colloid nucleation, colloid flo cculation, and assembly in interfacial films. By monitoring the drople t-diameter, we present the effect of a variety of surfactants, additiv es, and organic solvents, as well as the amount of the colloid, and th at of the continuous and the dispersed liquid phases. A quantitative a nalysis explains the experimental results and enables us to estimate t he film thickness and the flee size. A modified hydrophilic/lyophilic balance scale accounts for the role of the surfactants. It is demonstr ated that monitoring the droplet size on the submillimeter scale is a powerful tool in the investigation of colloid processes on the nanomet er scale and colloid flocculation in the micrometer and submicrometer scales.