Droplets and bubbles coated by a protective armour of particles find numerous applications in encapsulation, stabilization of emulsions and foams, and flotation techniques. Here we study the role of a body force, such as in flotation, as a means of continuous encapsulation by particles. We use dense particles, which self-assemble into rafts, at oil-water interfaces. We show that these rafts can be spontaneously or controllably destabilized into armoured oil-in-water droplets, which highlights a possible role for common granular materials in environmental remediation. We further present a method for continuous production and discuss the generalization of our approach towards colloidal scales. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.
CITATION STYLE
Abkarian, M., Protière, S., Aristoff, J. M., & Stone, H. A. (2013). Gravity-induced encapsulation of liquids by destabilization of granular rafts. Nature Communications, 4. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms2869
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