Lattice Boltzmann simulations of formation and deformation of bicontinuous emulsion gels in magnetic fields

Particle stabilized emulsions are of interest for their stability, environmentally friendliness, and possibility of microstructure tuning. One particular emulsion structure is known as the bicontinuous interfacially stabilized emulsion gel (bijel) and has shown promise in developing membranes, catalyst supports, templates and pharmaceuticals. We present lattice Boltzmann simulations of magnetic response of bijels synthesized with anisotropic particles. The results show that the domain size of the bijels increases with increasing magnetic field strength, while the interfacial area and the Gaussian curvature of the interface decrease. We hypothesize that this effect is due to the way particles pack within the interface, changing the jamming point. Under magnetic fields, the particles reorient and the orientational order increases with magnetic field strength, thereby allowing closer packing of the particles This link between microstructural changes and particle packing is not observed in bijels stabilized with spherical particles, lending support to the hypothesis that the orientation of the particles alters the jamming point of the bijel.