Physical chemistry in foam drainage and coarsening

Abstract

This review covers recent advances in the study of foam drainage and coarsening, focusing especially on the effective role of the foam chemical components on those aging processes. The determination of the relevant parameters controlling foam drainage and coarsening today remains a major issue: are the physical parameters (like bubble size and liquid fraction) sufficient to define a foam and to predict its evolution, or do the chemical components also matter? And if these foam components are important, one has to determine by which mechanisms, and which microscopic parameters involved in these mechanisms are eventually crucial. I report here recent experimental results, shedding light on these issues. It allows us to summarize how the surfactant, the liquid bulk properties, and the gas modify or not the drainage and coarsening features. The coupling between drainage and coarsening is also discussed, as well as the role of the experimental conditions (sample height, shape or foam uniformity).