1
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Masclef J, Prunet J, Schmidt BVKJ. Synthesis of PEG-Polycycloether Block Copolymers: Poloxamer Mimics Containing a Rigid Helical Block. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 11:e2310277. [PMID: 38520722 PMCID: PMC11165552 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202310277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024]
Abstract
Poloxamers are amphiphilic block copolymers consisting of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(propylene glycol) segments. Their self-assembly and interfacial properties are tied to the relative hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity of each block and can therefore be adjusted by changing block lengths. Here, a series of PEG-polycycloether block copolymers is synthesized that have the same structure as a poloxamer, but they encompass a rigid polycyclic backbone as the hydrophobic block. A variety of polymer structures are synthesized, for example diblock or triblock architectures, with/without olefinic units, atactic or isotactic backbone, and different block lengths. Due to their amphiphilicity, self-assembly into spherical aggregates (diameters ranging from 64 to 132 nm) at low concentrations (critical aggregation concentration as low as 0.04 mg mL-1) is observed in water. Low surface tensions (as low as 26.7 mN m-1) are observed as well as the formation of stable high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) irrespective of the oil/water ratio. This contrasts with the properties of the commonly used poloxamers P188 or P407 and illustrates the significance of the rigid polycycloether block. These new colloidal properties offer new prospects for applications in emulsion formulations for biomedicine, cosmetics, and the food industry.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Joëlle Prunet
- School of Chemistry, Joseph Black BuildingUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowG12 8QQUK
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2
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Shishida K, Matsubara H. Demulsification of Silica Stabilized Pickering Emulsions Using Surface Freezing Transition of CTAC Adsorbed Films at the Tetradecane-Water Interface. J Oleo Sci 2023; 72:1083-1089. [PMID: 37989305 DOI: 10.5650/jos.ess23102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The adsorbed film of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) at the tetradecane (C14) - water interface undergoes a first-order surface transition from two-dimensional liquid to solid states upon cooling. In this paper, we utilized this surface freezing transition to realize a spontaneous demulsification of Pickering emulsions stabilized by silica particles. In the temperature range above the surface freezing transition, the interfacial tension of silica laden oil-water interface was lower than CTAC adsorbed film, hence, stable Pickering emulsion was obtained by vortex mixing. However, the interfacial tension of CTAC adsorbed film decreased rapidly below the surface freezing temperature and became lower than the silica laden interface. The reversal of the interfacial tensions between silica laden and CTAC adsorbed films gave rise to Pickering emulsion demulsification by the desorption of silica particles from the oil-water interface. The exchange of silica particles and CTAC at the surface of emulsion droplets was also confirmed experimentally by using phase modulation ellipsometry at the oil-water interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuki Shishida
- Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Hiroshima University
| | - Hiroki Matsubara
- Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Hiroshima University
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3
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Hacmon S, Liber SR, Shool L, Butenko AV, Atkins A, Sloutskin E. "Magic Numbers" in Self-Faceting of Alcohol-Doped Emulsion Droplets. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2023; 19:e2301637. [PMID: 37259270 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202301637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Oil-in-water emulsion droplets spontaneously adopt, below some temperature Td , counterintuitive faceted and complex non-spherical shapes while remaining liquid. This transition is driven by a crystalline monolayer formed at the droplets' surface. Here, we show that ppm-level doping of the droplet's bulk by long-chain alcohols allows tuning Td by >50 °C, implying formation of drastically different interfacial structures. Furthermore, "magic" alcohol chain lengths maximize Td . This we show to arise from self-assembly of mixed alcohol:alkane interfacial structures of stacked alkane layers, co-crystallized with hydrogen-bonded alcohol dimers. These structures are accounted for theoretically and resolved by direct cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryoTEM), confirming the proposed structures. The discovered tunability of key properties of commonly-used emulsions by minute concentrations of specific bulk additives should benefit these emulsions' technological applicability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sagi Hacmon
- Physics Department, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 529002, Israel
- Bar-Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 529002, Israel
| | - Shir R Liber
- Physics Department, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 529002, Israel
- Bar-Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 529002, Israel
| | - Lee Shool
- Physics Department, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 529002, Israel
- Bar-Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 529002, Israel
| | - Alexander V Butenko
- Physics Department, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 529002, Israel
- Bar-Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 529002, Israel
| | - Ayelet Atkins
- Bar-Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 529002, Israel
| | - Eli Sloutskin
- Physics Department, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 529002, Israel
- Bar-Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, 529002, Israel
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4
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Glushkova D, Cholakova D, Biserova A, Tsvetkova K, Tcholakova S, Denkov N. Drop shape stability vs shape shifting: Role of surfactant adsorption layer. Colloids Surf A Physicochem Eng Asp 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2022.130374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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5
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Feng J, Valkova Z, Lin EE, Nourafkan E, Wang T, Tcholakova S, Slavchov R, Smoukov SK. Minimum surfactant concentration required for inducing self-shaping of oil droplets and competitive adsorption effects. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:6729-6738. [PMID: 36040113 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm01326b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Surfactant choice is key in starting the phenomena of artificial morphogenesis, the bottom-up growth of geometric particles from cooled emulsion droplets, as well as the bottom-up self-assembly of rechargeable microswimmer robots from similar droplets. The choice of surfactant is crucial for the formation of a plastic phase at the oil-water interface, for the kinetics, and for the onset temperature of these processes. But further details are needed to control these processes for bottom-up manufacturing and understand their molecular mechanisms. Still unknown are the minimum concentration of the surfactant necessary to induce the processes, or competing effects in a mixture of surfactants when only one is capable of inducing shapes. Here we systematically study the effect of surfactant nature and concentration on the shape-inducing behaviour of hexadecane-in-water emulsions with both cationic (CTAB) and non-ionic (Tween, Brij) surfactants over up to five orders of magnitude of concentration. The minimum effective concentration is found approximately equal to the critical micelle concentration (CMC), or the solubility limit below the Krafft point of the surfactant. However, the emulsions show low stability at the vicinity of CMC. In a mixed surfactant experiment (Tween 60 and Tween 20), where only one (Tween 60) can induce shapes we elucidate the role of competition at the interface during mixed surfactant adsorption by varying the composition. We find that a lower bound of ∼75% surface coverage of the shape-inducing surfactant with C14 or longer chain length is necessary for self-shaping to occur. The resulting technique produces a clear visual readout of otherwise difficult to investigate molecular events. These basic requirements (minimum concentration and % surface coverage to induce oil self-shaping) and the related experimental techniques are expected to guide academic and industrial scientists to formulations with complex surfactant mixtures and behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiale Feng
- Active and Intelligent Materials Lab, Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, 27 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge CB3 OFS, UK
- Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK
| | - Zhulieta Valkova
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sofia University, 1 James Bourchier Ave., 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria.
| | - E Emily Lin
- School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK.
| | - Ehsan Nourafkan
- School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK.
| | - Tiesheng Wang
- Active and Intelligent Materials Lab, Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, 27 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge CB3 OFS, UK
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Slavka Tcholakova
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sofia University, 1 James Bourchier Ave., 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria.
| | - Radomir Slavchov
- School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK.
| | - Stoyan K Smoukov
- Active and Intelligent Materials Lab, Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, 27 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge CB3 OFS, UK
- Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy, Sofia University, 1 James Bourchier Ave., 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria.
- School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK.
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6
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Nanikashvili PM, Butenko AV, Deutsch M, Lee D, Sloutskin E. Salt-induced stability and modified interfacial energetics in self-faceting emulsion droplets. J Colloid Interface Sci 2022; 621:131-138. [PMID: 35487043 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.03.146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
HYPOTHESIS The counterintuitive temperature-controlled self-faceting of water-suspended, surfactant-stabilized, liquid oil droplets provides new opportunities in engineering of smart liquids, the properties of which are controllable by external stimuli. However, many emulsions exhibiting self-faceting phenomena have limited stability due to surfactant precipitation. The emulsions' stability may be enhanced, and their inter-droplet electrostatic repulsion tuned, through controlled charge screening driven by varying-concentration added salts. Moreover, in many technologically-relevant situations, salts may already exist in the emulsion's aqueous phase. Yet, salts' impact on self-faceting effects has never been explored. We hypothesize that the self-faceting transitions' temperatures, and stability against surfactant precipitation, of ionic-surfactants-stabilized emulsions are significantly modified by salt introduction. EXPERIMENTS We explore the temperature-dependent impact of NaCl and CsCl salt concentration on the emulsions' phase diagrams, employing optical microscopy of emulsion droplet shapes and interfacial tension measurements, both sensitive to interfacial phase transitions. FINDINGS A salt concentration dependent increase in the self-faceting transition temperatures is found, and its mechanism elucidated. Our findings allow for a significant enhancement of the emulsions' stability, and provide the physical understanding necessary for future progress in research and applications of self-faceting phenomena in salt-containing emulsions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilkhaz M Nanikashvili
- Department of Physics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel; Bar-Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Alexander V Butenko
- Department of Physics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel; Bar-Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Moshe Deutsch
- Department of Physics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel; Bar-Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Daeyeon Lee
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Eli Sloutskin
- Department of Physics, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel; Bar-Ilan Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel.
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7
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Kennedy CL, Sayasilpi D, Schall P, Meijer JM. Self-assembly of colloidal cube superstructures with critical Casimir attractions. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2022; 34:214005. [PMID: 35203069 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/ac5866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The structure of self-assembled materials is determined by the shape and interactions of the building blocks. Here, we investigate the self-assembly of colloidal 'superballs', i.e. cubes with rounded corners, by temperature-tunable critical Casimir forces to obtain insight into the coupling of a cubic shape and short range attractions. The critical Casimir force is a completely reversible and controllable attraction that arises in a near-critical solvent mixture. Using confocal microscopy and particle tracking, we follow the self-assembly dynamics and structural transition in a quasi-2D system. At low attraction, we observe the formation of small clusters with square symmetry. When the attraction is increased, a transition to a rhombic Λ1-lattice is observed. We explain our findings by the change in contact area at faces and corners of the building blocks combined with the increase in attraction strength and range of the critical Casimir force. Our results show that the coupling between the rounded cubic shape and short-range attraction plays a crucial role for the superstructures that form and provide new insights for the active assembly control of micro and nanocubes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris L Kennedy
- Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, Groene Loper 19, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Daphne Sayasilpi
- Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Peter Schall
- Institute of Physics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Janne-Mieke Meijer
- Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, Groene Loper 19, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
- Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, PO Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands
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8
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Zhou C, Jia H, Liang S, Li Y, Li J, Chen H. Tailoring
3D
shapes of polyhedral milliparticles by adjusting orthogonal projection in a microfluidic channel. JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/pol.20210953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Chenchen Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Tribology Tsinghua University Beijing China
| | - He Jia
- School of Mechanical Engineering University of Science and Technology Beijing Beijing China
| | - Shuaishuai Liang
- School of Mechanical Engineering University of Science and Technology Beijing Beijing China
| | - Yongjian Li
- State Key Laboratory of Tribology Tsinghua University Beijing China
| | - Jiang Li
- School of Mechanical Engineering University of Science and Technology Beijing Beijing China
| | - Haosheng Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Tribology Tsinghua University Beijing China
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9
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Burrows SA, Korotkin I, Smoukov SK, Boek E, Karabasov S. Benchmarking of Molecular Dynamics Force Fields for Solid-Liquid and Solid-Solid Phase Transitions in Alkanes. J Phys Chem B 2021; 125:5145-5159. [PMID: 33724846 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c07587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Accurate prediction of alkane phase transitions involving solids is needed to prevent catastrophic pipeline blockages, improve lubrication formulations, smart insulation, and energy storage, as well as bring fundamental understanding to processes such as artificial morphogenesis. However, simulation of these transitions is challenging and therefore often omitted in force field development. Here, we perform a series of benchmarks on seven representative molecular dynamics models (TraPPE, PYS, CHARMM36, L-OPLS, COMPASS, Williams, and the newly optimized Williams 7B), comparing with experimental data for liquid properties, liquid-solid, and solid-solid phase transitions of two prototypical alkanes, n-pentadecane (C15) and n-hexadecane (C16). We find that existing models overestimate the melting points by up to 34 K, with PYS and Williams 7B yielding the most accurate results deviating only 2 and 3 K from the experiment. We specially design order parameters to identify crystal-rotator phase transitions in alkanes. United-atom models could only produce a rotator phase with complete rotational disorder, whereas all-atom models using a 12-6 Lennard-Jones potential show no rotator phase even when superheated above the melting point. In contrast, Williams (Buckingham potential) and COMPASS (9-6 Lennard-Jones) reproduce the crystal-to-rotator phase transition, with the optimized Williams 7B model having the most accurate crystal-rotator transition temperature of C15.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen A Burrows
- Chemical Engineering and Renewable Energy, School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, U.K
| | - Ivan Korotkin
- Mathematical Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, U.K
| | - Stoyan K Smoukov
- Chemical Engineering and Renewable Energy, School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, U.K
| | - Edo Boek
- Chemical Engineering and Renewable Energy, School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, U.K
| | - Sergey Karabasov
- Aerospace Engineering and Fluid Mechanics, School of Engineering and Materials Science, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, U.K
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10
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Marín-Aguilar S, Smallenburg F, Sciortino F, Foffi G. Monodisperse patchy particle glass former. J Chem Phys 2021; 154:174501. [PMID: 34241071 DOI: 10.1063/5.0036963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Glass formers are characterized by their ability to avoid crystallization. As monodisperse systems tend to rapidly crystallize, the most common glass formers in simulations are systems composed of mixtures of particles with different sizes. Here, we make use of the ability of patchy particles to change their local structure to propose them as monodisperse glass formers. We explore monodisperse systems with two patch geometries: a 12-patch geometry that enhances the formation of icosahedral clusters and an 8-patch geometry that does not appear to strongly favor any particular local structure. We show that both geometries avoid crystallization and present glassy features at low temperatures. However, the 8-patch geometry better preserves the structure of a simple liquid at a wide range of temperatures and packing fractions, making it a good candidate for a monodisperse glass former.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susana Marín-Aguilar
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Frank Smallenburg
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Francesco Sciortino
- Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Foffi
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, 91405 Orsay, France
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11
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Hata Y, Yoneda S, Tanaka S, Sawada T, Serizawa T. Structured liquids with interfacial robust assemblies of a nonionic crystalline surfactant. J Colloid Interface Sci 2021; 590:487-494. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2021.01.064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2020] [Revised: 12/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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12
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García-Aguilar I, Fonda P, Sloutskin E, Giomi L. Faceting and Flattening of Emulsion Droplets: A Mechanical Model. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2021; 126:038001. [PMID: 33543952 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.126.038001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
When cooled down, emulsion droplets stabilized by a frozen interface of alkane molecules and surfactants have been observed to undergo a spectacular sequence of morphological transformations: from spheres to faceted liquid icosahedra, down to flattened liquid platelets. While generally ascribed to the interplay between the elasticity of the frozen interface and surface tension, the physical mechanisms underpinning these transitions have remained elusive, despite different theoretical pictures having been proposed in recent years. In this Letter, we introduce a comprehensive mechanical model of morphing emulsion droplets, which quantitatively accounts for various experimental observations, including the size scaling behavior of the faceting transition. Our analysis highlights the role of gravity and the spontaneous curvature of the frozen interface in determining the specific transition pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ireth García-Aguilar
- Instituut-Lorentz, Universiteit Leiden, P.O. Box 9506, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Piermarco Fonda
- Instituut-Lorentz, Universiteit Leiden, P.O. Box 9506, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands
- Theory & Bio-Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Am Mühlenberg 1, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Eli Sloutskin
- Physics Department and Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 529002, Israel
| | - Luca Giomi
- Instituut-Lorentz, Universiteit Leiden, P.O. Box 9506, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands
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13
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Polyhedral liquid droplets: Recent advances in elucidation and application. Curr Opin Colloid Interface Sci 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cocis.2020.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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14
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Liber SR, Marin O, Butenko AV, Ron R, Shool L, Salomon A, Deutsch M, Sloutskin E. Polyhedral Water Droplets: Shape Transitions and Mechanism. J Am Chem Soc 2020; 142:8672-8678. [DOI: 10.1021/jacs.0c00184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Shir R. Liber
- Physics Department & Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Orlando Marin
- Physics Department & Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Alexander V. Butenko
- Physics Department & Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Racheli Ron
- Chemistry Department & Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Lee Shool
- Physics Department & Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Adi Salomon
- Chemistry Department & Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Moshe Deutsch
- Physics Department & Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Eli Sloutskin
- Physics Department & Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan 5290002, Israel
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15
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16
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Liber SR, Butenko AV, Caspi M, Guttman S, Schultz M, Schofield AB, Deutsch M, Sloutskin E. Precise Self-Positioning of Colloidal Particles on Liquid Emulsion Droplets. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2019; 35:13053-13061. [PMID: 31502850 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b01833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Decorating emulsion droplets by particles stabilizes foodstuff and pharmaceuticals. Interfacial particles also influence aerosol formation, thus impacting atmospheric CO2 exchange. While studies of particles at disordered droplet interfaces abound in the literature, such studies for ubiquitous ordered interfaces are not available. Here, we report such an experimental study, showing that particles residing at crystalline interfaces of liquid droplets spontaneously self-position to specific surface locations, identified as structural topological defects in the crystalline surface monolayer. This monolayer forms at temperature T = Ts, leaving the droplet liquid and driving at Td < Ts a spontaneous shape-change transition of the droplet from spherical to icosahedral. The particle's surface position remains unchanged in the transition, demonstrating these positions to coincide with the vertices of the sphere-inscribed icosahedron. Upon further cooling, droplet shape-changes to other polyhedra occur, with the particles remaining invariably at the polyhedra's vertices. At still lower temperatures, the particles are spontaneously expelled from the droplets. Our results probe the molecular-scale elasticity of quasi-two-dimensional curved crystals, impacting also other fields, such as protein positioning on cell membranes, controlling essential biological functions. Using ligand-decorated particles, and the precise temperature-tunable surface position control found here, may also allow using these droplets for directed supra-droplet self-assembly into larger structures, with a possible post-assembly structure fixation by UV polymerization of the droplet's liquid.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shir R Liber
- Physics Department and Institute of Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials , Bar-Ilan University , Ramat-Gan 5290002 , Israel
| | - Alexander V Butenko
- Physics Department and Institute of Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials , Bar-Ilan University , Ramat-Gan 5290002 , Israel
| | - Moshe Caspi
- Physics Department and Institute of Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials , Bar-Ilan University , Ramat-Gan 5290002 , Israel
| | - Shani Guttman
- Physics Department and Institute of Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials , Bar-Ilan University , Ramat-Gan 5290002 , Israel
| | - Moty Schultz
- Physics Department and Institute of Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials , Bar-Ilan University , Ramat-Gan 5290002 , Israel
| | - Andrew B Schofield
- The School of Physics and Astronomy , University of Edinburgh , Edinburgh EH9 3FD , U.K
| | - Moshe Deutsch
- Physics Department and Institute of Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials , Bar-Ilan University , Ramat-Gan 5290002 , Israel
| | - Eli Sloutskin
- Physics Department and Institute of Nanotechnology & Advanced Materials , Bar-Ilan University , Ramat-Gan 5290002 , Israel
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17
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Guttman S, Kesselman E, Jacob A, Marin O, Danino D, Deutsch M, Sloutskin E. Nanostructures, Faceting, and Splitting in Nanoliter to Yoctoliter Liquid Droplets. NANO LETTERS 2019; 19:3161-3168. [PMID: 30986069 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.9b00594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Contrary to everyday experience, where all liquid droplets assume rounded, near-spherical shapes, the temperature-tuning of liquid droplets to faceted polyhedral shapes and to spontaneous splitting has been recently demonstrated in oil-in-water emulsions. However, the elucidation of the mechanism driving these surprising effects, as well as their many potential applications, ranging from faceted nanoparticle synthesis through new industrial emulsification routes to controlled-release drug delivery within the human body, have been severely hampered by the micron-scale resolution of the light microscopy employed to date in all in situ studies. Thus, the thickness of the interfacially frozen crystalline monolayer, suggested to drive these effects, could not be directly measured, and the low limit on the droplet size still showing these effects remained unknown. In this study, we employ a combination of super-resolution stimulated emission depletion microscopy, cryogenic transmission and freeze-fracture electron microscopy, to study these effects well into the nanometer length scale. We demonstrate the occurrence of the faceting transition in droplets spanning an incredible 12 decades in volume from nanoliters to yoctoliters and directly visualize the interfacially frozen, few nanometer thick, crystalline monolayer suggested to drive these effects. Furthermore, our measurements allow placing an upper-limit estimate on the two-dimensional Young modulus of the interfacial nanometer-thick surface crystal in the smallest droplets, providing insights into the virtually unexplored domain of nanoelasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shani Guttman
- Physics Department and Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials , Bar-Ilan University , Ramat Gan 529002 , Israel
| | - Ellina Kesselman
- Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute (RBNI) and Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Technion , Israel Institute of Technology , 32000 Haifa , Israel
| | - Avi Jacob
- The Mina and Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences , Bar-Ilan University , Ramat Gan 52900 , Israel
| | - Orlando Marin
- Physics Department and Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials , Bar-Ilan University , Ramat Gan 529002 , Israel
| | - Dganit Danino
- Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute (RBNI) and Department of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Technion , Israel Institute of Technology , 32000 Haifa , Israel
| | - Moshe Deutsch
- Physics Department and Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials , Bar-Ilan University , Ramat Gan 529002 , Israel
| | - Eli Sloutskin
- Physics Department and Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials , Bar-Ilan University , Ramat Gan 529002 , Israel
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