Structure of multi-component colloidal lattices at oil-water interfaces

Pickering Emulsions Stabilized by Binary Mixtures of Colloidal Particles: Synergies between Contrasting Properties

Pickering emulsions that are stabilized by colloidal particles have attracted substantial research attention because of their potential applications in various industries. Previously, single colloidal particles have usually been used to fabricate Pickering emulsions and to investigate the stabilization mechanism. However, surface modification of the colloidal stabilizer is normally required to adjust the particle wettability, which often involves chemical modification, the adsorption of a surfactant or polymer, and the addition of an electrolyte. Such a modification is expensive, time-consuming, and thus only partially effective. In this Perspective, we describe an alternative approach that uses binary mixtures of particles as stabilizers and could be an effective solution to the above-described problems with Pickering emulsions. We introduce various types of Pickering emulsions stabilized by binary mixtures of particles with different functional groups, opposite charges, or opposite wettabilities (i.e., they are hydrophilic or hydrophobic). Examples of stabilizing mechanisms are discussed, showing that compared with emulsions stabilized by single colloidal particles, emulsions stabilized by binary mixtures of particles are generated via simpler particle-pretreatment processes and have higher stability and customizable properties and thus can enable the exploration of the next generation of Pickering emulsions.

Hydrodynamic interactions between charged and uncharged Brownian colloids at a fluid-fluid interface

HYPOTHESIS

The cluster formation and self-assembly of floating colloids at a fluid/fluid interface is a delicate force balance involving deterministic lateral interaction forces, viscous resistance to relative colloid motion along the surface and thermal (Brownian) fluctuations. As the colloid dimensions get smaller, thermal forces and associated drag forces become important and can affect the self assembly into ordered patterns and crystal structures that are the starting point for various materials applications.

NUMERICS

Langevin dynamic simulations for particle pairs straddling a liquid-liquid interface with a high viscosity contrast are presented to describe the lateral interfacial assembly of particles in Brownian and non-Brownian dominated regimes. These simulations incorporate capillary attraction, electrostatic repulsion, thermal fluctuations and hydrodynamic interactions (HI) between particles (including the effect of the particle immersion depth). Simulation results are presented for neutrally wetted particles which form a contact angle θ=90⁰ at the interface.

FINDINGS

The simulation results suggest that clustering, fractal growth and particle ordering become favorable outcomes at critically large values of the Pe numbers, while smaller Pe numbers exhibit higher probabilities of final configurations where particle motion remains uncorrelated in space and particle pairs are found to be more widely separated especially upon the introduction of HI.

Pattern detection in colloidal assembly: A mosaic of analysis techniques

Characterization of the morphology, identification of patterns and quantification of order encountered in colloidal assemblies is essential for several reasons. First of all, it is useful to compare different self-assembly methods and assess the influence of different process parameters on the final colloidal pattern. In addition, casting light on the structures formed by colloidal particles can help to get better insight into colloidal interactions and understand phase transitions. Finally, the growing interest in colloidal assemblies in materials science for practical applications going from optoelectronics to biosensing imposes a thorough characterization of the morphology of colloidal assemblies because of the intimate relationship between morphology and physical properties (e.g. optical and mechanical) of a material. Several image analysis techniques developed to investigate images (acquired via scanning electron microscopy, digital video microscopy and other imaging methods) provide variegated and complementary information on the colloidal structures under scrutiny. However, understanding how to use such image analysis tools to get information on the characteristics of the colloidal assemblies may represent a non-trivial task, because it requires the combination of approaches drawn from diverse disciplines such as image processing, computational geometry and computational topology and their application to a primarily physico-chemical process. Moreover, the lack of a systematic description of such analysis tools makes it difficult to select the ones more suitable for the features of the colloidal assembly under examination. In this review we provide a methodical and extensive description of real-space image analysis tools by explaining their principles and their application to the investigation of two-dimensional colloidal assemblies with different morphological characteristics.

Coadsorption of Counterionic Colloids at Fluid Interfaces: A Coarse-Grained Simulation Study of Gibbs Monolayers

Monolayers of oppositely charged colloids form versatile self-organizing substrates, with a recognized potential to tailor functional interfaces. In this study, a coarse-grained Monte Carlo simulation approach is laid out to assess the structural properties of Gibbs monolayers, in which one of the counterionic species is partially soluble. It is shown that the composition of this type of monolayer varies in a nontrivial way with surface coverage, as a result of a subtle competition between steric and attractive forces. In the regime of weak electrostatic interactions, the monolayer is depleted of soluble colloids as the surface coverage is increased. At sufficiently strong interactions, the incorporation of soluble colloids is favored at high surface coverage, leading to a re-entrant-type behavior in the expansion/compression isotherms. Strong electrostatic interactions also favor the clustering of the colloids, leading to a range of aggregated configurations, qualitatively resembling those obtained in previous experimental studies. At sufficiently high surface coverage, the clusters collapse into a gel-like percolated mesoscopic structure and eventually into a square crystal lattice configuration. Such interfacial structures are in good agreement with the ones observed in the few experimental investigations available for these systems, showing that the simple methodology introduced in this study provides a valuable predictive framework to anticipate the landscape of interfacial structures that may be produced with oppositely charged colloids, through the modulation of pair interactions and thermodynamical conditions.

Interfacial Viscoelasticity of Self-Assembled Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Particles at an Air/Water Interface

Hydrophobic/hydrophilic mixtures of latex particles at an air/water interface self-assemble, creating space filling, interconnected aggregates as the relative surface fractions of the dissimilar particles approach 0.5, which is reflected both in qualitative observation and fractal dimension of the microstructure. It is hypothesized that this change in microstructure occurs due to an asymmetry in the electrostatic interaction between similar and dissimilar particles caused by polarization of hydrophilic particles by hydrophobic particles. The changes in both microstructure and interparticle interactions significantly impact the interfacial viscoelasticity. As greater shape complexity is observed, interfacial complex moduli can increase by as much as 3 orders of magnitude and interfaces become more elastic.

Dense colloidal mixtures in an external sinusoidal potential

Concentrated binary colloidal mixtures containing particles with a size ratio 1:2.4 were exposed to a periodic potential that was realized using a light field, namely, two crossed laser beams creating a fringe pattern. The arrangement of the particles was recorded using optical microscopy and characterized in terms of the pair distribution function along the minima, the occupation probability perpendicular to the minima, the angular bond distribution, and the average potential energy per particle. The particle arrangement was investigated in dependence of the importance of particle-potential and particle-particle interactions by changing the potential amplitude and particle concentration, respectively. An increase in the potential amplitude leads to a stronger localization, especially of the large particles, but also results in an increasing fraction of small particles being located closer to the potential maxima, which also occurs upon increasing the particle density. Furthermore, increasing the potential amplitude induces a local demixing of the two particle species, whereas an increase in the total packing fraction favors a more homogeneous arrangement.

Colloidal lattices of environmentally responsive microgel particles at ionic liquid-water interfaces

This work reports new evidence of the versatility of soft and environmentally responsive micron-sized colloidal gel particles as stabilizers at ionic liquid-water droplet interfaces. These particles display a duality with properties ascribed typically to both polymeric and colloidal systems. The utilization of fluorescently labeled composite microgel particles allows in-situ and facile visualization without the necessity of invasive sample preparation. When the prepared particles form monolayers equilibrated at the ionic liquid-water interface on fully covered droplets, the colloidal lattice re-orders itself depending on the surface charge of these particles. Finally, we demonstrate that the spontaneously formed and densely packed layer of microgel particles can be employed for extraction applications, as the interface remains permeable to small active species.

Hydrodynamics of Particles at an Oil-Water Interface

This study is a theoretical and experimental investigation of the hydrodynamics of the mutual approach of two floating spherical particles moving along an oil-water interface. An analytical expression is obtained for the (inertialess) Stokes drag for an isolated particle translating on a flat interface as a function of the immersion depth into the water phase for the case in which the viscosity of the oil is much larger than that of the water. An approximation for the viscous drag due to the mutual approach of identical spheres is formulated as the product of the isolated drag multiplied by the resistance of approaching spheres in an infinite medium. Experiments are undertaken on the capillary attraction of large, millimeter-sized Teflon spheres floating at the interface between a very viscous oil and water. With the use of image visualization and particle tracking, the separation distance as a function of time [[Formula: see text](t)] is measured along with the immersion depth and predicted by setting the capillary attraction force equal to the viscous drag resistance. The excellent agreement validates the approximating formula.

Surface charge regulation of carboxyl terminated polystyrene latex particles and their interactions at the oil/water interface

We study electrostatic interactions of polystyrene particles at an oil/water interface controlled by a chemical reaction of carboxylate surface functional groups. By replacing the carboxyl functional groups with hydrocarbon chains using the well-known EDC (1-ethyl-3-(3-(dimethylamino)propyl)carbodiimide) coupling reaction, the surface charge density decreases while the hydrophobicity of the colloid surface increases. Direct visualization of the particle-laden interface reveals that, depending on the extent of hydrocarbon coupling, the strength of the electrostatic repulsion can be regulated: the repulsive interaction increases with the reaction, removing aggregates, but rapidly decreases if the reaction proceeds too much, forming a large aggregation. This simple reaction, thus, dramatically changes the structures of the colloidal monolayers at the oil/water interface. We conclude that such structural change is the result of change of the repulsive interactions from the oil phase, although interactions in the water phase are also changed slightly.

Simultaneous interfacial rheology and microstructure measurement of densely aggregated particle laden interfaces using a modified double wall ring interfacial rheometer

The study of particle laden interfaces has increased significantly due to the increasing industrial use of particle stabilized foams and Pickering emulsions, whose bulk rheology and stability are highly dependent on particle laden interface's interfacial rheology, which is a function of interfacial microstructure. To understand the physical mechanisms that dictate interfacial rheology of particle laden interfaces requires correlating rheology to microstructure. To achieve this goal, a double wall ring interfacial rheometer has been modified to allow real time, simultaneous interfacial visualization and shear rheology measurements. The development of this tool is outlined, and its ability to provide novel and unique measurements is demonstrated on a sample system. This tool has been used to examine the role of microstructure on the steady shear rheology of densely packed, aggregated particle laden interfaces at three surface concentrations. Through examination of the rheology and analysis of interfacial microstructure response to shear, a transition from shear thinning due to aggregated cluster breakup to yielding at a slip plane within the interface has been identified. Interestingly, it is found that aggregated interfaces transition to yielding well before they reached a jammed state. Furthermore, these systems undergo significant shear induced order when densely packed. These results indicate that the mechanics of these interfaces are not simply jammed or unjammed and that the interfacial rheology relationship with microstructure can give us significant insight into understanding how to engineer particle laden interfaces in the future. By examining both rheology and microstructure, the mechanisms that dictate observed rheology are now understood and can be used to predict and control the rheology of the interface.

The influence of particle size and residual charge on electrostatic interactions between charged colloidal particles at an oil-water interface

Electrostatic repulsive interaction forces between charged spherical colloidal particles at an oil-water interface are numerically studied by solving the standard three-dimensional Poisson-Nernst-Planck model. We directly compute the electrostatic force on a finite-size spherical particle and our results are applicable to all inter-particle distances without distinguishing short ranges and long ranges. The model successfully captures the scaling relationship of the force and the separation distance (d) between two charged particles at both short ranges (exponential dependence) and long ranges (∼d(-4)). The model also bridges these two ranges and provides quantitative information in the middle range. In addition, by assuming that there is a small residual electric charge at the particle-oil interface, the standard model is capable of quantitatively predicting the repulsive particle-particle interaction force over a large range of the separation distance between two particles. The favorable agreement between experiments and theoretical predictions also leads one to conclude that the standard model adequately describes the particle-particle interactions trapped at the oil-water interface.

Particle self-assembly at ionic liquid-based interfaces

This review presents an overview of the nature of ionic liquid (IL)-based interfaces and self-assembled particle morphologies of IL-in-water, oil- and water-in-IL, and novel IL-in-IL Pickering emulsions with emphasis on their unique phenomena, by means of experimental and computational studies. In IL-in-water Pickering emulsions, particles formed monolayers at ionic liquid-water interfaces and were close-packed on fully covered emulsion droplets or aggregated on partially covered droplets. Interestingly, other than equilibrating at the ionic liquid-water interfaces, microparticles with certain surface chemistries were extracted into the ionic liquid phase with a high efficiency. These experimental findings were supported by potential of mean force calculations, which showed large energy drops as hydrophobic particles crossed the interface into the IL phase. In the oil- and water-in-IL Pickering emulsions, microparticles with acidic surface chemistries formed monolayer bridges between the internal phase droplets rather than residing at the oil/water-ionic liquid interfaces, a significant deviation from traditional Pickering emulsion morphology. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed aspects of the mechanism behind this bridging phenomenon, including the role of the droplet phase, surface chemistry, and inter-particle film. Novel IL-in-IL Pickering emulsions exhibited an array of self-assembled morphologies including the previously observed particle absorption and bridging phenomena. The appearance of these morphologies depended on the particle surface chemistry as well as the ILs used. The incorporation of particle self-assembly with ionic liquid science allows for new applications at the intersection of these two fields, and have the potential to be numerous due to the tunability of the ionic liquids and particles incorporated, as well as the particle morphology by combining certain groups of particle surface chemistry, IL type (protic or aprotic), and whether oil or water is incorporated.

Core-shell and asymmetric polystyrene-gold composite particles via one-step Pickering emulsion polymerization

Core-shell structured polystyrene-gold composite particles are synthesized from one-step Pickering emulsion polymerization. The surface coverage of the core-shell composite particles is improved with increasing gold nanoparticle (AuNP) hydrophobicity and concentration. At high surface coverage, the AuNPs exhibit an ordered hexagonal pattern, likely due to electrostatic repulsion during the emulsion polymerization process. In addition to core-shell structured polystyrene-gold composite particles, an intriguing observation is that at low AuNP concentrations, asymmetric polystyrene-gold nanocomposite particles are simultaneously formed, where a single gold nanoparticle is attached onto each polystyrene particle. It is found that these asymmetric particles are formed via a "seeded-growth" mechanism. The core-shell and asymmetric polystyrene-gold composite particles prove to be efficient catalysts as they successfully catalyze the Rhodamine B reduction reaction with stable performance and show high recyclability as catalysts.

Spontaneous transport of microparticles across liquid-liquid interfaces

Transporting micrometer-sized particles through the liquid-liquid interface generally requires high shear force and sometimes surfactant functionalization. Without these aids, particles adhere to the interface due to strong capillary forces (can be on the order of 10(6) kT). Thus, spontaneous transport of microparticles through the liquid-liquid interface has not yet been reported. However, we present a new phenomenon here: some ionic liquids (ILs) possess powerful extraction capabilities and can cause microparticles to migrate across the interface without the aid of any shear forces. Both single particles and clusters of particles were observed to adsorb to, then "jump" across the interface and finally detach. In the absence of external mixing, particles as large as 4 μm (in diameter) could completely penetrate the IL/water interface, despite the significant adhesive forces. We have presented a hypothesis that these forces were overcome by ions dissolved in the non-IL phase, which helped by covering the particle surfaces, allowing for more favorable interactions with the IL.

Two-dimensional colloidal alloys

We study the structure of mixed monolayers of large (3 μm diameter) and small (1 μm diameter) very hydrophobic silica particles at an octane-water interface as a function of the number fraction of small particles ξ. We find that a rich variety of two-dimensional hexagonal super-lattices of large (A) and small (B) particles can be obtained in this system due to strong and long-range electrostatic repulsions through the nonpolar octane phase. The structures obtained for the different compositions are in good agreement with zero temperature calculations and finite temperature computer simulations.

Particle self-assembly in ionic liquid-in-water Pickering emulsions

We report the self-assembly of a single species or a binary mixture of microparticles in ionic liquid-in-water Pickering emulsions, with emphases on the interfacial self-assembled particle structure and the partitioning preference of free particles in the dispersed and continuous phases. The particles form monolayers at ionic liquid-water interfaces and are close-packed on fully covered emulsion droplets or aggregated on partially covered droplets. In contrast to those at oil-water interfaces, no long-range-ordered colloidal lattices are observed. Interestingly, other than equilibrating at the ionic liquid-water interfaces, the microparticles also exhibit a partitioning preference in the dispersed and continuous phases: the sulfate-treated polystyrene (S-PS) and aldehyde-sulfate-treated polystyrene (AS-PS) microparticles are extracted to the ionic liquid phase with a high extraction efficiency, whereas the amine-treated polystyrene (A-PS) microparticles remain in the water phase.

Capillary forces between particles at a liquid interface: general theoretical approach and interactions between capillary multipoles

The liquid interface around an adsorbed colloidal particle can be undulated because of roughness or heterogeneity of the particle surface, or due to the fact that the particle has non-spherical (e.g. ellipsoidal or polyhedral) shape. In such case, the meniscus around the particle can be expanded in Fourier series, which is equivalent to a superposition of capillary multipoles, viz. capillary charges, dipoles, quadrupoles, etc. The capillary multipoles attract a growing interest because their interactions have been found to influence the self-assembly of particles at liquid interfaces, as well as the interfacial rheology and the properties of particle-stabilized emulsions and foams. As a rule, the interfacial deformation in the middle between two adsorbed colloidal particles is small. This fact is utilized for derivation of accurate asymptotic expressions for calculating the capillary forces by integration in the midplane, where the Young-Laplace equation can be linearized and the superposition approximation can be applied. Thus, we derived a general integral expression for the capillary force, which was further applied to obtain convenient asymptotic formulas for the force and energy of interaction between capillary multipoles of arbitrary orders. The new analytical expressions have a wider range of validity in comparison with the previously published ones. They are applicable not only for interparticle distances that are much smaller than the capillary length, but also for distances that are comparable or greater than the capillary length.