Double emulsions: how does release occur?

Water-in-oil-in-water double emulsions (W/O/W) consist of dispersed oil globules containing smaller aqueous droplets. These materials offer interesting possibilities for the controlled release of chemical species initially entrapped in the internal droplets. A better understanding of the stability conditions and release properties in double emulsions requires the use of model systems with a well-defined droplet size. In this paper, we use quasi-monodisperse double emulsions made of calibrated water droplets and oil globules to investigate the two mechanisms that are responsible for the release of a chemical substance (NaCl). (i) One is due to the coalescence of the thin liquid film separating the internal droplets and the globule surfaces. (ii) The other mechanism termed as 'compositional ripening' occurs without film rupturing; instead it occurs by diffusion and/or permeation of the chemical substance across the oil phase. By varying the proportions and/or the chemical nature of the surface active species it is possible to shift from one mechanism to the other one. We therefore study separately both mechanisms and we establish some basic rules that govern the behavior of W/O/W double emulsions.