Hi guys, I am curious as to why someone would choose certain combinations of oil phase and surfactant over others. For example, I am currently using light mineral with span 80 added in my microfluidic flow focusing device to create microgels. I have also seen people use hexadecane with span 80 instead. Is there a particular reason to use one combination over the other? Will one lead to better particle stability?
Thanks!
For a stable emulsion, a significant reduction in interfacial surface tension is required. Span copes with this in both cases equally. Hexane on the surface with water has a surface tension of 2 mN / m less, but it has a low boiling point. It evaporates faster than hexadecane. Therefore, hexadecane is used.
aside from experimental performance, some may prefer one over the other for environmental concerns. If the two are close, I would personally go with mineral oil.
n-Hexadecane is a fixed chemical compound. It should be the same, independent of the producer. "Light mineral oil" is not well defined and even different batches from the same manufacturer may have different compositions. So the chances of surprises, when you finish a bottle, and try to repeat the experiments with a new bottle are lower with n-hexadecane.
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