Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol.242, No.1, 239-246, 2001
Measurements on concentrated oil in water emulsions using static light scattering
The characterization of uncharged, micrometer-sized, concentrated oil in water emulsion droplets in terms of size and interaction with static light scattering is the main part of this work. We combined the preparation of monodisperse emulsions with an oil with a low refractive index ratio (close to the matchpoint), the measurements in a light-scattering instrument with variable sample thickness down to about 12 mum (all to ensure that the measurements were carried out in the Rayleigh-Debye-Gans (RDG) single scattering regime), and the evaluation procedure for simultaneous calculation of the form factor and the structure factor. In addition, we studied the major types of influences of the deviation from the RDG single scattering theory and picture their effects on the scattering behavior and the evaluation procedures. We were able to calculate from the structure factor the correct oil content in a concentration series up to a volume fraction of 50%. Entering the multiple RDG scattering regime, one yields scattering curves with increasingly smeared minima and maxima. When the contrast of the droplets changes, we see with increasing contrast an apparent growth of the particles due to the influence of Lorenz-Mie (LM) scattering. The study of the influence of salt to charged emulsions shows that large particles are very sensitive to added salt. Even very low salt concentration led to effective hard-sphere behavior.