Structure and dynamics simulations of magnetically responsive particle-stabilized emulsion gels

Complex multicomponent fluids that undergo liquid-liquid phase separation have attracted interest as model systems for fluid-templated assembly of mesostructured soft materials. The interplay of phase behavior, fluid dynamics, and interfacial thermodynamics in these systems gives rise to interesting structure-property relations such as interfacial assembly and kinetically arrested phase morphologies. One particular example of kinetically arrested liquid mixtures are interfacially jammed emulsion gels (bijels) that emerge due to colloidal jamming during spinodal decomposition, resulting in an out-of-equilibrium liquid morphology with gel-like properties. Computational modeling and simulations can help gain a fundamental understanding of the structure and dynamics of particle-stabilized emulsions. We present lattice Boltzmann simulations of emulsion gels stabilized by anistropic particles. Magnetic particles facilitate controlled deformation and coalescence of particle-stabilized droplets and bijels by applied fields. The simulations shed light on the effect of magnetic fields on the domain size and morphology of liquid mesophases. The control mechanisms pave the way to engineered fluid templates with tailored structure, which can be leveraged to fabricate porous materials for filtration and separation.