The Petroleum Research Fund, through the American Chemical Society, has selected Professor Ji-Xin Cheng's proposal entitled "Chemical Imaging of Spontaneous Emulsification Using Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering Microscopy" for funding.

The research project will focus on achieving a better understanding of the mechanism of spontaneous formation of emulsions by use of CARS microscopy. To accomplish this goal, a three-color CARS system will be used to monitor the transport of specific molecules at the interface of two immiscible phases and to determine the final chemical composition of emulsions. The proposed experiments promise to provide new information that was buried in previous morphology studies. The knowledge to be derived is significant for a fundamental understanding of non-equilibrium kinetics and has practical use for improving the efficiency of drug delivery and oil recovery.