Double Emulsions: A Tool for Probing Thin-Film Metastability

Abstract

We study the kinetics of the release of monodisperse water-in-oil-in-water double emulsions in the regime dominated by coalescence of the internal aqueous droplets onto the globule interface. By measuring the rate of release of adsorbed droplets, we directly determine the average lifetime of the thin film that forms between the small internal droplets and the globule surface. Therefore, the activation energy and the natural frequency of the hole nucleation process within the adhesive thin liquid films are unambiguously deduced.