Novel stabilization mechanisms for concentrated emulsions with tunable morphology via amphiphilic polymer-grafted nanoparticles

TL;DR

This paper investigates how amphiphilic polymer-grafted nanoparticles stabilize concentrated emulsions and how their architecture influences emulsion morphology and stability, using molecular simulations to guide design of effective emulsifiers.

Contribution

It introduces a comparative analysis of AB-type and BA-type diblock PGNPs, revealing the superior stabilizing effect of BA-type PGNPs in concentrated emulsions.

Findings

BA-type PGNPs disperse effectively and stabilize emulsions

AB-type PGNPs tend to aggregate and cause coalescence

Emulsion stability can be tuned by varying PGNP concentration

Abstract

This study explores the stabilization mechanisms of concentrated emulsions with tunable morphology using amphiphilic polymer-grafted nanoparticles (PGNPs). We employ coarse-grained molecular simulations to investigate concentrated oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by partially hydrolyzed poly(vinyl alcohol)-grafted poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) particles. Two grafting architectures were examined: hydrophilic-hydrophobic (AB-type) diblock PGNPs and reverse BA-type diblock PGNPs. Our findings reveal that AB-type diblock PGNPs tend to aggregate, leading to droplet-droplet coalescence. In contrast, BA-type diblock PGNPs disperse effectively in the water phase, stabilizing robust emulsion through a space-filling mechanism. The study further demonstrates that the stability and morphology of the emulsions can be tuned by varying the number of PGNPs. Our results suggest that BA-type diblock PGNPs are more effective in stabilizing concentrated emulsions, offering insights for the design of novel emulsifiers in industrial applications.