Microfluidic fabrication of monodisperse microcapsules for self healing material

Abstract

We report microfluidic fabrication of microcapsules for use in self-healing composites which results in dramatic reduction of the coefficient of variation (CV) of the microcapsule size from ∼40 to less than 4, as compared to traditional batch emulsification methods. With this fabrication approach the mean microcapsule size can also be accurately controlled through variation of process parameters such as fluid flow rate. The surface morphology, i.e. roughness of the capsule shell, and shell thickness can also be tuned by utilizing fluid shear and controlling temperature.