(713j) Predicting the Microstructure of an Interface Laden with Anisotropic Particles

Micrometer scale particles regularly interact with and adsorb to planar and curved interfaces found in a variety of consumer products, foodstuffs, industrial and coating processes. Often times, interfaces stabilized with solid particulates are more stable than interfaces stabilized by molecular surfactants. The ultimate properties of the interface depend on the interfacial microstructure, which in turn depend on interparticle interactions. We conducted Monte Carlo simulations for canonical ensemble (NVT ensemble) to predict the microstructure of spheroids, ranging from spheres to ellipsoids, at a liquid/liquid interface. In these simulations, particles experienced a superposition of interactions arising from electrostatics and capillarity. Results summarized in this presentation will compare microstructure through parametric change guided by experimental data. The experimental and simulation data showed that capillary energy expressions are accurate, while our data suggests the need for a more sophisticated expression for the electrostatic interaction between ellipsoids pinned to an interface.