What makes mayonnaise thick, cosmetics stable, or paint flow smoothly? The answer often lies in emulsions: tiny droplets of one liquid suspended in another, whose interactions can transform the way a material behaves.
In the Soft Matter group, we investigate what keeps emulsions stable, what causes them to separate, and how their microscopic structure controls their flow. From droplet interactions to the transition between solid-like and liquid-like behaviour, our research connects fundamental physics to the design of everyday materials.
Exploring the microscopic structure and mechanical behaviour of emulsions.
Emulsions naturally tend to separate, yet surfactants and particles can keep them stable for long periods. We study how these stabilising mechanisms work and use controlled compression to reveal how droplets deform, interact, and eventually merge.
When droplets become densely packed, emulsions can behave like soft solids. Only when a critical stress is exceeded do they begin to flow. We investigate this transition, known as yielding, and how droplet concentration and additives shape the material’s mechanical properties.
Selected Research
Recent publications exploring the stability, structure, and flow of emulsions.
R. I. Dekker et al. · Soft Matter
Comparing emulsions stabilised by surfactants and solid particles to uncover how their interfacial properties and resistance to coalescence differ.
R. I. Dekker, H. V. M. Kibbelaar, A. Deblais & D. Bonn · Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics
Investigating how flexible and rigid polymers influence the flow properties, shear-thinning behaviour, and yield stress of concentrated emulsions.
H. V. M. Kibbelaar, R. I. Dekker et al. · Colloids and Surfaces A
Revealing how nanoparticles adsorb at droplet interfaces to stabilise emulsions, while also creating attractive interactions that influence their mechanical behaviour.
Riande Dekker · r.i.dekker@uva.nl ↗