Shear rheology of fluid interfaces: Closing the gap between macro- and micro-rheology

For many years the determination of the shear viscosity of interfacial layers has been source of strong controversy. This is mainly because different techniques provided different values of such parameter, which leads in many cases to a puzzling interpretation of the experimental results. One possible explanation of this is the non-correct analysis of the hydrodynamic conditions of the measurement and, in particular, the assumption of some approximations that may not be necessarily valid in all cases. The introduction of hydrodynamic consideration in the study of interfacial shear rheology has helped to clarify some of the existing discrepancies between measurements performed using different devices, thus allowing one to establish clearly the viscosity range in which different techniques can operate with enough sensitivity for determining the interfacial shear viscosity. This review puts in perspective the most recent developments on the studies of the interfacial shear rheology of fluid/fluid interfaces, analyzing the strength and weakness of the different approaches.