Influence of flocculation and coalescence on the evolution of the average radius of an O/W emulsion. Is a linear slope of
3vs. t an unmistakable signature of Ostwald ripening?
Abstract
The LSW theory of 3vs. t) [I. M. Lifshitz, V. V. Slyozov, J. Phys. Chem. Solids, 1961, 19, 35–50; C. Wagner, Z. Elektrochem., 1961, 65, 581–591]. It also envisages a left-skewed drop-size distribution with a cut-off radius of 1.5
. Consequently, non-linear changes of
3vs. t are usually ascribed to either a transient period of time (previous to the attainment of the asymptotic limit of ripening) or other destabilisation processes. Up to now the effect of Brownian motion on
3 can change linearly with time during the transient period of