2021 Virtual Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics
Friday–Sunday, January 22–24, 2021;
Virtual
Session U22: Geology, Atmospheric Sciences, Other
12:00 PM–1:30 PM,
Sunday, January 24, 2021
Chair: Tamara Koledin, Oregon State University
Abstract: U22.00007 : Molecular Modeling of a Bijel*
1:00 PM–1:10 PM
Preview Abstract
Abstract
Author:
Mickaela Samuel
(Rochester Institute of Technology)
Bicontinuous Interfacially Jammed Emulsion Gels, bijels, are emulsions of
two immiscible liquids ``jammed'' into a network created by colloids. Bijels
could have the capability to improve energy conversion, catalytic reactions,
and electrical conductivity and given its potential we aim to understand the
thermodynamic conditions for obtaining a Bijel. This involved initially
tuning the binary liquid interactions. The competition between vapor-liquid
phase separation and liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) among the three
components complicates the system. To entirely suppress vapor-liquid
equilibrium, the well-depth between the liquids is set to 1. Colloids were
then incorporated into the system by introducing three parameters: $\varphi
_{\mathrm{C}}$ which represents the colloidal volume, V that sets the
strength of the colloidal attractions, and $\kappa $ which sets the range of
attraction. Finally, the interaction between the three components was chosen
to be neutral. $\kappa $ was set at 30 for the entire study while V and
$\varphi_{\mathrm{C}}$ varied. The mean-squared displacement and the
radial distribution function were plotted and compared to visual snapshots
to classify the behavior of the material. The results of these simulations
helped conclude that $\varepsilon =$1 is better at suppressing void
formation and the degree of separation between the liquids decreases with
increasing colloidal volume fraction. There's also evidence that bijels can
form or LLPS can only occur when the colloids form a gel that creates large
voids for phase separation. In relation to the overall goal, the
thermodynamic parameters that provided the ``best'' route for a Bijel was
$\varepsilon =$1, $\kappa =$30, V$=$5, and $\varphi
_{\mathrm{C}}=$0.15.
*Molecular Modeling of a Bijel