Breakup of a flow-focused emulsion jet for the production of matrix-structured microcapsules

Abstract

To achieve a better control of particle performances, significant research efforts have been directed toward the production of structured particles with a very narrow size distribution, or monodisperse “designer” particles. This paper presents a method for the production of monodisperse microspheres with a matrix structure. The technique is based on the application of flow focusing to the breakup of an emulsion jet in a liquid environment using an in-house designed and fabricated macroscopic device. Through the variation of flow conditions, the device is capable of producing matrix-structured monodisperse microcapsules in a size range of 20–200 µm.