Recently, in multiphasic systems, drastic differences in reactivity have been reported compared to bulk solutions. In this work, we uncover a new mechanism that generates micro- and nanodroplets. Using electrochemiluminescence microscopy, we demonstrate the coalescence of two or more water microdroplets adsorbed on an electrode surface in a 1,2-dichloroethane continuous phase spontaneously generates multiple emulsions inside the resulting water droplets. During the collision of adsorbed water droplets with each other on the electrode surface, volumes of organic and water phases are entrapped and detected as ECL non-emitting and emitting regions. Using scanning electron microscopy, the diameter of those confined environments inside the water droplets can reach a lower limit of hundreds of nanometers. This study adds a new mechanism for the generation of micro- and nano-emulsions and provides insight into confinement techniques under abiotic conditions.

Abiotic microenvironments form when neighboring microdroplets coalesce: An eletrochemiluminescence investigation

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ACS Spring 2023

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