The behavior of iodine in multi-phase solutions

Elemental iodine has several potential uses due to its characteristic absorbance, and several other properties including surface activity, however the behavior of iodine at surface boundaries has not been widely explored. Emulsions are systems of two or more solvents that are insoluble in each other, but have been mechanically dispersed and held in suspension by surfactants and other surface-active compounds. This results in several chemical environments present in emulsions due to the different phases and boundary conditions, each with their own unique chemical makeup. In our research we have investigated the behavior of iodine found in these systems by NMR, UV/Vis, and other techniques, with the goal of discovering where and in what ratios the iodine is present.