Phase Inversion of Colored Pickering Emulsions Stabilized by Organic Pigment Particle Mixtures

Pickering emulsions as an alternative to traditional polymers: trends and applications

Pickering emulsions have gained increasing interest because of their unique features, including easy preparation and stability. In contrast to classical emulsions, in Pickering emulsions, the stabilisers are solid micro/nanoparticles that accumulate on the surfaces of liquid phases. In addition to their stability, Pickering emulsions are less toxic and responsive to external stimuli, which make them versatile material that can be flexibly designed for specific applications, e.g., catalysis, pharmaceuticals and new materials. The potential toxicity and adverse impact on the environment of classic emulsions is related to the extractable nature of the water emulsifier. The impacts of some emulsifiers are related to not only their chemical natures but also their stabilities; after base or acid hydrolysis, some emulsifiers can be turned into sulphates and fatty alcohols, which are dangerous to aquatic life. In this paper, recent research on Pickering emulsion preparations is reviewed, with a focus on styrene as one of the main emulsion components. Moreover, the effects of the particle type and morphology and the critical parameters of the emulsion production process on emulsion properties and applications are discussed. Furthermore, the current and prospective applications of Pickering emulsion, such as in lithium-ion batteries and new vaccines, are presented.

Demulsification of Bacteria-Stabilized Pickering Emulsions Using Modified Silica Nanoparticles

Pickering emulsions stabilized by bacteria acting as particle emulsifiers are new platforms for microbial transformations of hydrophobic chemicals. However, their high stability often hampers demulsification during downstream processing. Since the existing methods (like addition of surfactants) to demulsify bacteria-stabilized Pickering emulsions have negative effects, new practical methods need to be developed. Here, using chemically modified fumed silica particles with different hydrophobicity, the demulsification of W/O Pickering emulsions stabilized by Mycobacterium neoaurum whole cells was first studied. The binary particle-stabilized emulsions exhibited phase inversion and dewatering induced by the coalescence of W/O emulsions or creaming of O/W emulsions. The silica particle hydrophobicity and concentration were the important parameters influencing the emulsion type, droplet morphology, and dewatering rate. The highest dewatering rate and largest droplet size were obtained at the inversion point from W/O to O/W. Confocal microscopy showed that no interaction between the bacteria and silica particles existed and the silica particle adsorption at the interface induced the detachment of bacteria from the interface, revealing that there was competitive adsorption between the binary particles at the interface. Based on these results, we suggested that the average hydrophobicity of the binary particles at the interface would determine the emulsion type and stability. Finally, this strategy was successfully applied to the demulsification of the Pickering emulsion formed during microbial transformation of sterols. Overall, this study provides a new strategy to demulsify Pickering emulsions by addition of another particle emulsifier. This is also the first example of separation of products as well as organic phases after microbial transformation in Pickering emulsions.

Enzyme-Adsorbed Chitosan Nanogel Particles as Edible Pickering Interfacial Biocatalysts and Lipase-Responsive Phase Inversion of Emulsions

Here, a simple food-grade Pickering emulsion system is prepared and adopted for biphasic biocatalytic reactions. The chitosan nanogels were prepared with strong dispersion of chitosan aggregates approaching neutral pH and then used as the particle emulsifiers to produce oil-in-water Pickering emulsions. The chitosan nanogel exhibited high affinity to negatively charged lipase. As a result of increasing the biphasic interfacial area and loading amount on the oil-water interface, the catalysis activity of lipase and recycling and pH stability were highly enhanced through colorimetric determination of p-nitrophenol (the hydrolysis product of p-nitrophenyl palmitate). A general strategy was proposed to obtain stimulus-responsive Pickering emulsions that can undergo phase inversion. The in situ modification of the wettability of chitosan nanogel could be attributed to the interaction between nanogel and free fatty acids, which was triggered by lipase hydrolysis. This would permit a rapid and controlled release of hydrophobic active components in response to enzymatic triggers.

Illuminating the Impact of Submicron Particle Size and Surface Chemistry on Interfacial Position and Pickering Emulsion Type

Pickering emulsions are increasingly applied in the production of medicines, cosmetics, and in food technology. To apply Pickering emulsions in a rational manner it is insufficient to examine properties solely on a macroscopic scale, as this does not elucidate heterogeneities in contact angles (θ) of individual particles, which may have a profound impact on stability and microstructure. Here, we apply the super-resolution technique iPAINT to elucidate for the first time the microscopic origins of macroscopically observed emulsion phase inversions induced by a variation in particle size and aqueous phase pH. We find θ of single carboxyl polystyrene submicron particles (CPS) significantly decreases due to increasing aqueous phase pH and particle size, respectively. Our findings confirm that θ of submicron particles are both size- and pH-dependent. Interestingly, for CPS stabilized water-octanol emulsions, this enables tuning of emulsion type from water-in-oil to oil-in-water by adjustments in either particle size or pH.

Phase Inversions Observed in Thermoresponsive Pickering Emulsions Stabilized by Surface Functionalized Colloidal Silica

In this study, the emulsification performance of functionalized colloidal silica is explored with the aim to achieve phase inversion of particle-stabilized (Pickering) emulsion systems. An increased understanding of inversion conditions can facilitate surfactant-free emulsion fabrication and expand its use in industrial applications. Phase inversion was achieved by adjusting the temperature but without changing the composition of the emulsion formulation. Silica nanoparticles modified with hydrophobic propyl groups and hydrophilic methyl poly(ethylene)glycol (mPEG) groups are used as emulsifiers, enabling control of the wettability of the particles and exploration of phase inversion phenomena, the latter due to the thermoresponsiveness of the attached PEG chains. The phase inversion conditions as well as the reversibility of the emulsion systems were examined at varying electrolyte concentrations and pH values of the suspensions. Transitional phase inversions, from oil-in-water and water-in-oil and back, were observed in functionalized silica particle-stabilized butanol emulsions at distinct temperatures. The phase inversion temperature was affected by electrolyte concentration and pH conditions due to salting-out effects, PEG-silica interactions, and the effects of the particle surface charge. Investigations of phase inversion conditions, temperature, and hysteresis effects in Pickering emulsions can improve the theoretical understanding of these phenomena and facilitate the implementation of low-energy emulsion preparation.

Recent advances of characterization techniques for the formation, physical properties and stability of Pickering emulsion

Recently, there have been increasing demand for the application of Pickering emulsions in various industries due to its combined advantage in terms of cost, quality and sustainability. This review aims to provide a complete overview of the available methodology for the physical characterization of emulsions that are stabilized by solid particles (known as Pickering emulsion). Current approaches and techniques for the analysis of the formation and properties of the Pickering emulsion were outlined along with the expected results of these methods on the emulsions. Besides, the application of modelling techniques has also been elaborated for the effective characterization of Pickering emulsions. Additionally, approaches to assess the stability of Pickering emulsions against physical deformation such as coalescence and gravitational separation were reviewed. Potential future developments of these characterization techniques were also briefly discussed. This review can act as a guide to researchers to better understand the standard procedures of Pickering emulsion assessment and the advanced methods available to date to study these emulsions, down to the minute details.

Amphiphilic Cellulose Nanocrystals for Enhanced Pickering Emulsion Stabilization

Sulfated cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) with high surface charge density are inadequate for stabilizing oil-water emulsions, which limits their applications as interfacial stabilizers. We performed end-group modification by introducing hydrophobic chains (polystyrene) to CNC. Results showed that the modified CNC are more effective in emulsifying toluene and hexadecane than pristine CNC. Various parameters were investigated, such as concentration of particles, electrolytes, and polarity of solvents on the characteristics of the emulsions. This study provides strategies for the modification of cellulose nanocrystals to yield amphiphilic nanoparticles that enhance the stability of emulsions. Such systems, bearing biocompatible and environmentally friendly characteristics, are attractive for use in a wide range of industries spanning food, biomedicine, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and petrochemicals.