Phase inversion temperature method droplet size

The phase inversion temperature (PIT) method is helpful when ethoxylated nonionic surfactants are used to obtain an oil-and-water emulsion. Heating the emulsion inverts it to a water-and-oil emulsion at a critical temperature. When the droplet size and interfacial tension reach a minimum, and upon cooling while stirring, it turns to a stable oil-and-water microemulsion form. " ... 

A method requiring much less mechanical energy uses phase inversion see also the discussion of phase inversion temperature in the section Emulsifying Agents )- For example, if ultimately a W/O emulsion is desired, then a coarse OAV emulsion is first prepared by the addition of mechanical energy, and the oil content is progressively increased. At some volume fraction above 60-70%, the emulsion will suddenly invert and produce a W/O emulsion of much smaller water droplet sizes than were the oil droplets in the original O/W emulsion. 

Two methods may be applied for the preparation of nano-emulsions (covering the droplet radius size range 50-200 nm). Use of high-pressure homogenisers (aided by appropriate choice of surfactants and cosurfactants) or application of the phase inversion temperature (PIT) concept. 

In this process phase inversion is introduced by lowering the temperature of the polymer solution. A polymer is mixed with a substance that acts as a solvent at a high temperature and the polymer solution is cast into a film. When the solution is cooled, it enters into an immiscible region due to the loss of solvent power. Liquid-liquid demixing occurs and the solution is separated into two phases, i.e., the polymer-lean phase is dispersed as droplets in the polymer-rich phase. Further, cooling causes gelation of polymer. Because the solvent is usually nonvolatile, it must be removed with a liquid that is miscible with the solvent but not miscible with the polymer. The membranes made by the TIPS method have pore sizes in the range of 0.1 and 1 pm and the pore structure is uniform in the depth direction. ... 

To apply the phase inversion principle, the transitional inversion method should be used, as demonstrated by Shinoda and coworkers [11, 12] when using nonionic surfactants of the ethoxylate type. These surfactants are highly dependent on temperature, becoming lipophilic with increasing temperature due to dehydration of the poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) chain. When an O/W emulsion that has been prepared using a nonionic surfactant of the ethoxylate type is heated, at a critical temperature - the PIT - the emulsion will invert to a W/O emulsion. At the PIT, the droplet size reaches a minimum and the interfacial tension also reaches a minimum, but the small droplets are unstable and coalesce very rapidly. Rapid cooling of an emulsion that has been prepared close to the PIT results in very stable and small emulsion droplets. 

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