Micro-bubble formation with organic membrane in a multiphase microfluidic system

This paper describes the continuous and uniform organic encapsulated micro-bubble generation system in a water flow microchannel including a lumped gas and organic injection junction. The micro-bubble was formed by the blow of organic phase into a water phase in microchannel and the gas was encapsulated in the thin organic membrane. Multiphase microchemical systems provide the large interfacial area, fast mixing and fast reaction efficiency to achieve increased performance in microfluidic system. The diameter and thickness of organic micro-bubble were well controlled by the flow rates of water phase and organic phase. The diameter of the gas bubble encapsulated organic membrane was ranged from 110 μm to 220 μm, while the thickness of organic membrane from 4 μm to 16 μm. The generation rate of organic micro-bubble was 40 numbers per second with the uniform volume controllable, ranging from 214 pL to 855 pL. The organic membrane is applicative for the chemical reaction media, and the organic bubble is expected to apply as capsules of reactive gas handling in microfluidic system.