Dynamic phase transitions and time dependent structuring effects in particle-stabilized emulsions

Particle-stabilized emulsions are commonly used in various industrial applications, but their fundamental properties remain poorly understood. Computer simulations are well-suited to probe properties of emulsions that are hard to access experimentally. We use the lattice Boltzmann (LB) method with some extensions to simulate multiple fluids and the suspended particles. We review two examples of our recent research on particle-stabilized emulsions. First, we showcase the possibility of changing an emulsion from a Pickering emulsion to a so-called bijel or vice versa, by changing in time the wettability of the particles. When Pickering emulsions are generated, the droplet size distribution is possibly bimodal, which can be observed in our simulations. Second, we demonstrate the effect of anisotropy of the ellipsoidal particles on the formation of an emulsion. Compared to emulsions stabilized by spherical particles, additional timescales are observed, owing to the extra degrees of freedom introduced by the difference in length of the different axes.