Monodispersed isooctane/formamide emulsion prepared by ceramic membrane jet-flow emulsification

Emulsion template is an important tool for the preparation of ordered porous material. In this paper, a novel method of monodispersed emulsion template preparation by using two-stage ceramic membrane jet-flow emulsification was proposed. Two submerged ceramic membrane emulsification apparatuses were used in series, a ZrO₂ membrane with pore size of 0.2 μm was used in the first stage and an α-Al₂O₃ membrane with pore size of 1.6 μm was used in second stage. The continuous phase used was formamide, the dispersed phase was isooctane and the poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(propylene glycol)-poly(ethylene glycol) was used as surfactant in this process. The mean particle sizes of the emulsions obtained by the proposed method are from 1 μm to 2 μm, and the emulsion has excellent stability and monodispersity within 16 hours. It was found that the mean droplet size and viscosity of the emulsion prepared will increase with the increase of transmembrane pressure and concentration of isooctane.