Preparation and characterization of water in oil emulsion via drop break-off

Water in oil emulsion with drop sizes ranging from 15 to 400 μm was produced via drop break-off in a co-flowing environment. A phase diagram illustrating the drop break-up formation mechanism and size distribution as a function of disperse and continuous phase flow rate is presented. The drop break-up dynamic dominated by the disperse flow rate gives the transition point between monodisperse and polydisperse emulsion production. In addition, we studied the formation of 2D and 3D emulsion crystalline structures by mixing droplets with two distinct diameters with a certain size ratio, which may lead to a novel type of chemical reaction setup and new materials.