Crystallisation of oil-in-water emulsions. Amphiphile directed nucleation in aqueous emulsions of m-chloronitrobenzene

Abstract

Despite significant research on the packing and nucleation characteristics of amphiphiles at the air/aqueous solution interface, surprisingly little is known about the selection or design of emulsifiers for controlling crystallisation at the industrially more relevant oil/water interface, as found in emulsions. In this contribution, a combination of nucleation studies, interfacial tension measurements and X-ray powder diffractometry have been used to probe the relationship between nucleation temperature, physical form of crystals, emulsifier molecular structure and the extent of ordering and molecular recognition at the interface between m-chloronitrobenzene and water.