How emulsified droplets induce the bursting of suspended films of liquid mixtures

TL;DR

This study investigates how emulsified silicone oil droplets affect the stability of non-aqueous liquid films, revealing that droplet spreading and bridging can induce rapid film bursting.

Contribution

It provides a quantitative analysis of how microdroplets influence film lifetime and bursting mechanisms in non-aqueous emulsions, highlighting the roles of spreading and bridging.

Findings

Droplets reduce film lifetime by inducing local thinning.

Droplet spreading drags the liquid, causing burst.

Bridging droplets lead to more efficient bursting.

Abstract

Emulsion droplets of silicone oil (PDMS) are widely used as antifoaming agents but, in the case of non-aqueous foams, the mechanisms responsible for the bursting of the films separating the bubbles remain unclear. We consider a ternary non-aqueous liquid mixture in which PDMS-rich microdroplets are formed by spontaneous emulsification. In order to quantitatively assess the effect of the emulsified microdroplets, we measure the lifetime of sub-micrometer-thick suspended films of these emulsions as well as the time variations of their thickness profiles. We observe that a droplet entering the film reduces its lifetime by inducing a local and fast thinning. In most cases, we ascribe it to the spreading of the drop at one of the film interface with air, which drags the underlying liquid and causes eventually the film to burst rapidly. We explain why, despite slower spreading, more viscous droplets cause films to burst more efficiently. More rarely, microdroplets may bridge the two interfaces of the film, resulting in an even more efficient bursting of the film that we explain.