Jiang Hang, Fang En, Qi Lin, Guan Xin, Li Yunxing, Liu Wei, Ngai To
Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education & School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, P. R. China.
Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N. T., Hong Kong.
Soft Matter. 2023 Nov 1;19(42):8240-8246. doi: 10.1039/d3sm01171b.
The intelligent regulation of microgel-stabilized Pickering emulsions with multi-responsiveness is presently constrained to the processes of emulsification and destabilization. However, the expansion of multi-control over Pickering emulsions to involve phase inversion and the investigation of the accompanying processes and mechanisms present a great challenge. In this study, a microgel with dual responsiveness to both pH and temperature was synthesized using an emulsion template. The resulting microgel exhibited a robust colloidosome-like structure, distinguished by the presence of monolayer-adsorbed silica nanoparticles. The regulation of the packing of surface-covered silica nanoparticles was easily achieved through the swelling of the microgel matrix. Furthermore, the wettability of the microgel can be adjusted between hydrophilic and hydrophobic intervals, allowing for the effective and dual-responsive phase inversion of Pickering emulsions. Moreover, it has been observed that colloidosome-like microgels can lead to unique interfacial structures during the emulsification process, thereby elucidating the fundamental mechanism governing emulsion phase inversion.
目前，具有多响应性的微凝胶稳定的皮克林乳液的智能调控仅限于乳化和去稳定化过程。然而，将对皮克林乳液的多重控制扩展到包括相转变，并研究伴随的过程和机制，是一项巨大的挑战。在本研究中，使用乳液模板合成了对pH和温度具有双重响应性的微凝胶。所得微凝胶呈现出类似胶体囊泡的坚固结构，其特征在于存在单层吸附的二氧化硅纳米颗粒。通过微凝胶基质的溶胀，可轻松实现表面覆盖的二氧化硅纳米颗粒堆积的调控。此外，微凝胶的润湿性可在亲水和疏水区间之间调节，从而实现皮克林乳液的有效和双重响应相转变。此外，已观察到类似胶体囊泡的微凝胶在乳化过程中可导致独特的界面结构，从而阐明了控制乳液相转变的基本机制。
