First direct exploitation of non-equilibrium aggregate effects in polyelectrolyte/surfactant mixtures to tune emulsion stability
This proposal extends for the first time advances on the strong influence of non-equilibrium effects in polyelectrolyte/surfactant (PE/S) mixtures at the air-water interface made using neutron reflectometry (NR) to tuning emulsion stability at the oil-water interface. While PE/S mixtures exhibit high surface activity and are commonly used to stabilise emulsions, aggregates produced in the aqueous phase can contact and modify the properties of the oil-water interface, resulting in droplet coalescence and reduced stability. This work concerns a comparison of the structures created at the oil-water interface as a function of the strength of the PE/S interaction and the presence versus absence of bulk aggregates in the aqueous phase. While the former factor is tuned through the solution pH, the latter is tuned through a unique comparison of mixing both PE/S components in the aqueous phase versus introducing surfactant in the oil phase and polyelectrolyte in the aqueous phase. Only NR can deliver a direct characterisation of the interfacial structure and composition. The work will mark the first study of its kind to tune non-equilibrium effects to influence future emulsion technologies.
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Richard A. Campbell; Javier Carrascosa-Tejedor; GUTFREUND Philipp; Armando Maestro; VARGA Imre and ZARBAKHSH Ali. (2021). First direct exploitation of non-equilibrium aggregate effects in polyelectrolyte/surfactant mixtures to tune emulsion stability. Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) doi:10.5291/ILL-DATA.9-10-1656
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