Silicone oil emulsions stabilized by polymers and solid particles

Silicone oil emulsions stabilized by various emulsifiers such as polymers, solid particles alone, and solid particles with pre-adsorbed surfactants or polymers are reviewed, focusing on their emulsion stability and rheological properties as a function of the emulsifier concentration. An increase in the concentration of the emulsifier leads to a decrease in the droplet size and an increase in the emulsion stability, irrespective of the emulsifier. Moreover, the overlapping concentration of polymer can be regarded as a criterion for the preparation of emulsions using polymeric emulsifiers. Changes in the emulsion stability and rheological responses of the emulsions prepared by the solid particles with pre-adsorbed polymers are discussed in terms of the amounts of the emulsifiers adsorbed. For emulsions prepared from hydrophilic silica particles with pre-adsorbed polymers, a decrease in the droplet size of an order of magnitude can be controlled by an increase in the concentration of polymer, whereas hydrophilic silica particles alone cannot produce stable silicone oil emulsions.