Surface foam or bubble (physical interface)

Surface foam or surface bubbles refer to a physical, multiphase system composed of gas (usually air) dispersed in a liquid, with the interface commonly stabilized by surfactants or proteins. Foams consist of a network of gas bubbles whose separation is maintained by thin liquid films known as lamellae. These structures occur naturally (e.g., ocean foam, pulmonary surfactant foams) and industrially (e.g., in coatings or manufacturing processes). Surfactants stabilize foams by reducing surface tension and creating elastic surface layers, while antifoams destabilize by lowering surface tension locally and disrupting lamella integrity, leading to bubble collapse[1][3][4][5]. Surface foam/bubbles are not molecular targets in the sense of a receptor or enzyme but are manipulated in various processes using chemical additives for control and stabilization.

Other names

foamsurface foambubblessurface bubblesair/water interface bubbles

For antifoams: lowering surface tension, disrupting bubble lamella, promoting coalescence of bubbles, hydrophobic interaction with lamella