Processable high internal phase Pickering emulsions using depletion attraction.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 28145435.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms14305 and PMC identifier 5296636.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
High internal phase emulsions have been widely used as templates for various porous materials, but special strategies are required to form, in particular, particle-covered ones that have been more difficult to obtain. Here, we report a versatile strategy to produce a stable high internal phase Pickering emulsion by exploiting a depletion interaction between an emulsion droplet and a particle using water-soluble polymers as a depletant. This attractive interaction facilitating the adsorption of particles onto the droplet interface and simultaneously suppressing desorption once adsorbed. This technique can be universally applied to nearly any kind of particle to stabilize an interface with the help of various non- or weakly adsorbing polymers as a depletant, which can be solidified to provide porous materials for many applications.