Droplet-Bijel-Droplet Transition in Aqueous Two-Phase Systems Stabilized by Oppositely Charged Nanoparticles: A Simple Pathway to Fabricate Bijels
| Autor: | Abhimanyu Kiran, Venkateshwar Rao Dugyala, Vishwajeet Mehandia, Manigandan Sabapathy, Chandra Shekhar |
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| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
chemistry.chemical_classification
Materials science Nanoparticle 02 engineering and technology Surfaces and Interfaces Polymer 010402 general chemistry 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology Condensed Matter Physics 01 natural sciences 0104 chemical sciences Contact angle Colloid Adsorption chemistry Chemical physics Phase (matter) Electrochemistry Zeta potential Surface modification General Materials Science 0210 nano-technology Spectroscopy |
| Zdroj: | Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids. 37(23) |
| ISSN: | 1520-5827 |
| Popis: | We demonstrate a novel yet straightforward methodology of stabilizing aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) using oppositely charged nanoparticles (OCNPs). We employ commercial-grade, Ludox, OCNPs to induce self-assembly. This self-assembly route promotes the stronger adsorption of nanoparticles at the water-water interface by triggering the formation of 2D and 3D aggregates of varying sizes and shapes. The interplay of this size and shape promotes stability due to increased Gibbs detachment energy and modulates the resulting cluster adsorption at the interface, thereby the structural state of emulsions. We demonstrate the influence of polymers' and particles' composition on the structural transformation from droplet-bijel-droplet using a phase diagram. For the first time, such a structural transition and the single pathway are reported within the domain of ATPS to produce stable bijels or colloidal capsules. It is asserted that the essential condition of three-phase contact angle (θ) = 90° to favor the formation of bijels can be established by selecting a suitable experimental condition using a phase diagram without employing any complicated surface modification procedures reported in the literature. Further, the mechanistic route favoring the formation of bijels and emulsion droplets at different experimental regimes is presented based on the empirical study using turbidity and zeta potential measurements. These studies reveal that the formation of bijels will be most favored when the parameter M (ratio of weight fraction of positively charged nanoparticles to negatively charged nanoparticles) is chosen between 0.7 and 4. It is intriguing to note the fact that, while the droplets stabilized by OCNPs have shown good resilience under high centrifugal action, the bijels produced in this way continued to remain stable for a long time, offering a facile route to prepare the bijels with a hierarchical bicontinuous network structure. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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