Issue 2, 2020

Polyelectrolyte hydrogel capsules as stabilizers for reconfigurable complex emulsions

Abstract

Responsive complex emulsions are increasingly of interest for use in diagnostics, optics, and chemical sensing due to their tunable chemical and physical properties. A significant limitation of such fluid droplets for long-term applications is their eventual breakdown over time by pathways such as coalescence and Ostwald ripening that lead to variations in droplet size and composition. Elucidating approaches by which to enhance droplet stability while simultaneously maintaining their reconfigurability and responsive character is therefore important. This report explores the behavior of reconfigurable hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon droplets in water that are encapsulated in a polyelectrolyte hydrogel shell. Surfactant-free gelation pathways are investigated to form oil-core calcium alginate capsules, and the effects of the hydrogel capsule structure on droplet stability and reconfigurability in the presence of surfactants are characterized.

Graphical abstract: Polyelectrolyte hydrogel capsules as stabilizers for reconfigurable complex emulsions

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
29 juin 2019
Accepted
13 sept. 2019
First published
18 sept. 2019

Polym. Chem., 2020,11, 281-286

Author version available

Polyelectrolyte hydrogel capsules as stabilizers for reconfigurable complex emulsions

R. V. Balaj, S. W. Cho, P. Singh and L. D. Zarzar, Polym. Chem., 2020, 11, 281 DOI: 10.1039/C9PY00956F

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