"Stability of Foams with the Addition of Particles" 

Elizabeth Malek, MSE PhD Candidate 

Advisor: Professor Carlos Martinez

WebEx Link

ABSTRACT

Foams are both naturally occurring and manufacturable substances that consist of large volumes of gas contained in comparably small amounts of liquid or solid. Liquid foams are commonly used in a variety of products like detergents, foods, firefighting foams, and cosmetics. Small particles can stabilize a liquid foam by aiding in the resistance of gravitational drainage, coalescence, and disproportionation. Particle stabilized aqueous foams have become a topic of interest in the past 20 years. Some specifically tailored particles, notably silica nanoparticles, have the ability to solely stabilize aqueous foam structures, but other studies have shown that the addition of surfactants can work in tandem with the particles to increase stability even more than particles alone. This document discusses the well-known properties and equations that govern foam stability, how the role of particle addition changes these properties, the investigations of current literature into the effects of particle stabilized aqueous foams with and without surfactants, as well as gaps in the current literature and suggestions about where future studies could focus new interest.