Controlled jamming of particle-laden interfaces using a spinning drop tensiometer

Abstract

When particles adsorb at a fluid/fluid interface at a sufficiently high concentration, the interface loses mobility and displays solidlike characteristics, a phenomenon called "interfacial jamming". Jamming can arrest interfacial tension-driven morphological coarsening in liquid/liquid or gas/liquid systems and therefore stabilize two phase morphologies with unusual interfacial shapes, for example, nonspherical drops and bubbles, and bijels. Here, we conduct a systematic study of interfacial tension-driven jamming of a particle monolayer using a spinning drop tensiometer (SDT). A drop of mineral oil surrounded by ethylene glycol was spun into a cylindrical shape in a SDT. With decreasing rotational rate, the cylindrical drop retracted due to interfacial tension, thus reducing the interfacial area. In the case of particle-covered drops, drop retraction caused an increase in interfacial particle concentration. Accordingly, when the specific interfacial area became comparable to that of a close packing of particles, interfacial jamming occurred and drop retraction was arrested. Fast interfacial contraction or low particle loadings led to less compact jammed monolayers, that is, with a larger specific interfacial area. There was also significant hysteresis between compressing versus expanding the jammed monolayer, suggesting that a certain minimum stress is required for unjamming. Limited experiments with the same particles at a mineral oil/silicone oil interface showed altogether different behavior. In this case, particles did not spread at the interface and a particle-free portion of the interface coexisted with a particle-covered portion. This suggests that the monolayer behavior at this nonpolar/nonpolar interface is dominated by interparticle attraction.