| Newton Black Films (NBFs) are soft ultrathin films that are formed in foams and emulsions. This observation shows that their existence is closely linked to surfactant activity, with the non-polar phase (air – foams, oil –emulsion) plays a secondary role. Overall, the stability of NBFs depends on a wide range of variables; amphiphilic molecule chemical composition, temperature, salt concentration or disjoining pressure. Understanding the microscopic mechanisms governing the formation and the physical properties of NBFs is an important objective, both to explain the physical origin of the surface forces operating in these ultra thin nanometer structures, and to design soft materials of interest in industry and nanotechnology, where NBFs can be used to assist the two dimensional assembly of complex materials. I will discuss computer simulation studies on the structure and stability of NBFs. Computer simulations and recent methodological advances in the computation of the structure of interfaces provide a powerful approach to visualize the structure and formation of these films, making feasible the development of microscopic models to interpret their stability in the framework of wetting theory. |
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