Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Surface Active Agents

Surface Active Agents

Surfactants, named for their behavior at interfaces, positively adsorb at the interfaces of two phases, reducing interfacial tension. Their versatility as emulsifiers, detergents, and foaming agents stems from this ability. Surfactants, often termed amphiphiles, share the property of amphipathy, with molecules having both hydrophilic and hydrophobic portions. The hydrophilic part is called the head, and the hydrophobic part, including an elongated alkyl substituent, forms the tail.Surfactants...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Chemically Fueled Interfacial Supramolecular Polymerization.

ACS nano·2026

Same author

<i>In Situ</i> Imaging of Nanorod Adsorption and Assembly at Liquid Surfaces.

ACS nano·2026

Same author

Dynamic permeability in metastable droplet interfacial bilayers.

Soft matter·2026

Same author

Interfacial Inversion of Stealth Surfactants.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026

Same author

Arrested coalescence in structured liquids.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Development of Magnetic Microbeads Equipped with Temperature-Responsive Artificial Antibodies for Efficient Anticancer Drug Administration.

Analytical chemistry·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Anionic Polymerization of an Amphiphilic Copolymer for Preparation of Block Copolymer Micelles Stabilized by π-π Stacking Interactions

Anionic Polymerization of an Amphiphilic Copolymer for Preparation of Block Copolymer Micelles Stabilized by π-π Stacking Interactions

Published on: October 10, 2016

Amphiphilic Polyphosphazene for Fluorocarbon Emulsion Stabilization.

Yongkang Wang¹, Wei Liu¹, Zhiyi Zang¹

¹State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China.

Small (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)

|April 4, 2024

Summary

Researchers developed a novel biodegradable polyphosphazene surfactant to stabilize fluorocarbon high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). This breakthrough enables the creation of advanced fluorinated porous polymers for applications like oil/water separation.

Keywords:

emulsion interface polyphosphazene porous materials surfactant

More Related Videos

Preparation of Hollow Polystyrene Particles and Microcapsules by Radical Polymerization of Janus Droplets Consisting of Hydrocarbon and Fluorocarbon Oils

Preparation of Hollow Polystyrene Particles and Microcapsules by Radical Polymerization of Janus Droplets Consisting of Hydrocarbon and Fluorocarbon Oils

Published on: January 25, 2018

Flash NanoPrecipitation for the Encapsulation of Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Compounds in Polymeric Nanoparticles

Flash NanoPrecipitation for the Encapsulation of Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Compounds in Polymeric Nanoparticles

Published on: January 7, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Anionic Polymerization of an Amphiphilic Copolymer for Preparation of Block Copolymer Micelles Stabilized by π-π Stacking Interactions

Anionic Polymerization of an Amphiphilic Copolymer for Preparation of Block Copolymer Micelles Stabilized by π-π Stacking Interactions

Published on: October 10, 2016

Preparation of Hollow Polystyrene Particles and Microcapsules by Radical Polymerization of Janus Droplets Consisting of Hydrocarbon and Fluorocarbon Oils

Preparation of Hollow Polystyrene Particles and Microcapsules by Radical Polymerization of Janus Droplets Consisting of Hydrocarbon and Fluorocarbon Oils

Published on: January 25, 2018

Flash NanoPrecipitation for the Encapsulation of Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Compounds in Polymeric Nanoparticles

Flash NanoPrecipitation for the Encapsulation of Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Compounds in Polymeric Nanoparticles

Published on: January 7, 2019

Area of Science:

Materials Science
Polymer Chemistry
Colloid and Surface Science

Background:

High internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) are crucial for creating fluorinated porous polymers with desirable properties.
The preparation of stable fluorocarbon HIPEs is challenging due to a lack of effective surfactants.

Purpose of the Study:

To design and synthesize a novel biodegradable amphiphilic surfactant for stabilizing water/fluorocarbon oil-based emulsions.
To utilize these stabilized emulsions for the fabrication of fluorinated porous polymers.

Main Methods:

Synthesized a comb-like polyphosphazene (PPZ) surfactant by grating hydrophilic and fluorophilic side chains.
Controlled the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of PPZ by adjusting the ratio of side chains.
Used the synthesized PPZ surfactant to stabilize water-in-oil HIPEs and oil-in-water emulsions.
Polymerized the oil phase of the stabilized emulsions to produce fluorinated porous polymers and particles.

Main Results:

Successfully synthesized a biodegradable amphiphilic polyphosphazene (PPZ) surfactant.
Demonstrated tunable HLB of PPZ by varying side chain ratios, enabling stable emulsion formation.
Produced fluorinated porous polymers and particles with controlled structures via emulsion polymerization.
The resulting polymers exhibited excellent thermal stability and hydrophobicity.

Conclusions:

Developed a novel, biodegradable PPZ surfactant effective for stabilizing fluorocarbon HIPEs.
The tunable nature of the PPZ surfactant allows for versatile emulsion preparation.
The fabricated fluorinated porous polymers show significant potential for oil/water separation applications due to their properties.