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Facile Preparation of Internally Self-assembled Lipid Particles Stabilized by Carbon Nanotubes
Published on: February 19, 2016
Spontaneous oil-in-water emulsification induced by charge-stabilized dispersions of various inorganic colloids
S Sacanna1, W K Kegel, A P Philipse
1Van't Hoff Laboratory for Physical and Colloid Chemistry, Debye Institute, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Charge-stabilized dispersions of inorganic colloids are shown to induce spontaneous emulsification of hydrophobic (TPM) molecules to stable oil-in-water emulsions, with monodisperse, mesoscopic oil droplet diameters in the range of 30-150 nm, irrespective of the polydispersity of the starting dispersions. The results for cobalt ferrite particles and commercial silica sols extend our first study (Sacanna, S.; Kegel, W. K.; Philipse, A. Phys. Rev. Lett. 2007, 98, 158301) on spontaneous emulsification induced by charged magnetite colloids and show that this type of self-assembly is quite generic with respect to the composition of the nanoparticles adsorbing at the oil-water interface. Moreover, we provide additional experimental evidence for the thermodynamic stability of these mesoemulsions, including spontaneous oil dispersal imaged by confocal microscopy and monitored in situ by time-resolved dynamic light scattering. We discuss the possibility that thermodynamic stability of the emulsions is provided by the negative tension of the three-phase line between oil, water, and adsorbed colloids.
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