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Bituminous emulsions and their characterization by atomic force microscopy
Author(s) -
Loeber,
Stéphane Alexandre,
Martin Anton Müller,
Triquigneaux,
Jolivet,
Malot
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of microscopy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2818
pISSN - 0022-2720
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2818.2000.00667.x
Subject(s) - asphalt , coalescence (physics) , mica , pulmonary surfactant , atomic force microscopy , micelle , homogeneity (statistics) , adsorption , materials science , oil sands , chemical engineering , characterization (materials science) , asphaltene , microscopy , nanotechnology , composite material , chemistry , optics , aqueous solution , organic chemistry , physics , statistics , mathematics , astrobiology , engineering
We present a new method for observing oil‐in‐water emulsions with a continuous water phase and a dispersed bitumen phase. The fine polydispersed bitumen micelles were adsorbed to an atomically smooth mica substrate and imaged in solution by atomic force microscopy in a liquid cell. The height of the adsorbed bitumen sheet in wet and dry states can be measured and the homogeneity of film formation by coalescence can be determined. Localization of surfactant onto and between bitumen micelles is also visualized.