Foam Films and Foams: Fundamentals and Applications (Progress in Colloid and Interface Science)

This book describes in detail the scientific philosophy of the formation and stabilization-destabilization of foams. It presents all hierarchical steps of a foam, starting from the properties of adsorption layers formed by foaming agents, discussing the properties of foam films as the building blocks of a foam, and then describing details of real foams, including many fields of application. The information presented in the book is useful to people working on the formulation of foams or attempting to avoid or destruct foams in unwanted situations.

Dotchi Exerowa graduated Chemistry at the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and made her PhD-thesis as well as habilitation at the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IPC-BAS). She was head of the Department of Interfaces and Colloids at the IPC-BAS until her retirement in 2005. In 2004 she was elected as Full Member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Her scientific interests were focused on thin liquid films and foams, and mechanisms of lung surfactants.

Georgi Gochev studied chemistry at the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and earned his PhD diploma in Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia 2009. Afterwards he spent several years as a postdoc researcher in Max-Plank-Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam, Germany. Currently he works at the University Münster (Germany). His scientific interests are in surface phenomena at soft interfaces, adsorption dynamics, surface rheology, thin liquid films and foam and emulsion stability with particular emphasis on polymers and proteins.

Libero Liggieri is senior researcher and group leader at the CNR Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry and Energy Technologies in Genoa (Italy). His research interests are mainly in the field of dynamics of surfactants and particles layers at the liquid interfaces, with applications to emulsions, foams and materials. He is particularly involved in surface science studies of under microgravity.

Reinhard Miller studied mathematics in Rostock and colloid chemistry in Dresden. After his PhD and habilitation at the Academy of Sciences in Berlin, (Germany), he spent a postdoc time at the University of Toronto. Since 1992 he is groups leader at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam, Germany. His main fields of interests are thermodynamics and kinetics of surfactants and proteins at liquid interfaces, interfacial rheology, foams and emulsions.

Dimo Platikanov graduated Chemistry at the University of Sofia "St. Kliment Ohridski". Here, at the Department of Physical Chemistry, he defended his PhD thesis and his habilitation and became full professor and head of this department. He was very much involved in the organization of colloid and interface sciences, in particular in the International Association of Colloid and Interface Scientists. Dimo Platikanov’s main scientific interests are liquid films, in particular wetting films.