An official website of the United States government
Bicontinuous interfacially jammed emulsion gels (bijels) formed via solvent transfer induced phase separation (STrIPS) are new soft materials with potential applications in separations, healthcare, or catalysis. To facilitate their applications, means to fabricate STrIPS bijels with nanoparticles of various surface chemistries are needed. Here, we investigate the formation of STrIPS bijels with nanoparticles of different wettabilities, ranging from partially hydrophobic to extremely hydrophilic. To this end, the surface wettability of silica nanoparticles is tailored by functionalization with ligands bearing either hydrophobic or hydrophilic terminal groups. We show that partially hydrophobic particles with acrylate groups can impart short-term stability to STrIPS bijels on their own. However, to enable long-term stability, the use of cationic surfactants is needed. Partially hydrophobic particles require short chain surfactants for morphological stability while glycerol-functionalized hydrophilic particles require double chain cationic surfactants. Variation of the surfactant concentration results in various STrIPS bijel morphologies with controllable domain sizes. Last, we show that functional groups on the nanoparticles facilitate interfacial cross-linking for the purposes of reinforcing STrIPS bijels. Our research lays the foundation for the use of a wide variety of solid particles, irrespective of their surface wettabilities, to fabricate bijels with potential applications in Pickering interfacial catalysis and as cross-flow microreactors.
more »
« less
Controlling Surfactant Adsorption on Highly Charged Nanoparticles to Stabilize Bijels
Bicontinuous particle-stabilized emulsions (bijels) are networks of interpenetrating oil/water channels with applications in catalysis, tissue engineering, and energy storage. Bijels can be generated by arresting solvent transfer induced phase separation (STrIPS) via interfacial jamming of nanoparticles. However, until now, STrIPS bijels have only been formed with silica nanoparticles of low surface charge densities, limiting their potential applications in catalysis and fluid transport. Here, we show how strongly charged silica nanoparticles can stabilize bijels. To this end, we carry out a systematic study employing dynamic light scattering, zeta potential, acid/base titrations, turbidimetry, surface tension, and confocal microscopy. We find that moderating the adsorption of oppositely charged surfactants on the particles is crucial to facilitate particle dispersibility in the bijel casting mixture and bijel stabilization. Our results potentially introduce a general understanding for bijel fabrication with different inorganic nanoparticle materials of variable charge density.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1751479
- PAR ID:
- 10161210
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of physical chemistry
- Volume:
- 124
- Issue:
- 23
- ISSN:
- 1932-7455
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 12417–12423
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Porous materials possess numerous useful functions because of their high surface area and ability to modulate the transport of heat, mass, fluids, and electromagnetic waves. Unlike highly ordered structures, disordered porous structures offer the advantages of ease of fabrication and high fault tolerance. Bicontinuous interfacially jammed emulsion gels (bijels) are kinetically trapped disordered biphasic materials that can be converted to porous materials with tunable features. Current methods of bijel fabrication result in domains that are micrometers or larger, and non-uniform in size, limiting their surface area, mechanical strength, and interaction with electromagnetic waves. In this work, scalable synthesis of bijels with uniform and sub-micrometer domains is achieved via a two-step solvent removal process. The resulting bijels are characterized quantitatively to verify the uniformity and sub-micrometer scale of the domains. Moreover, these bijels have structures that resemble the microstructure of the scale of the white beetle Cyphochilus. We find that such bijel films with relatively small thicknesses (<150 μm) exhibit strong solar reflectance as well as high brightness and whiteness in the visible range. Considering their scalability in manufacturing, we believe that VIPS-STRIPS bijels have great potential in large-scale applications including passive cooling, solar cells, and light emitting diodes (LEDs).more » « less
-
RationaleA two‐component matrix of 2‐nitrophloroglucinol (2‐NPG) and silica nanoparticles was used for matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry imaging of high‐charge‐state biomolecules in tissue. Potential advantages include increased effective mass range and efficiency of fragmentation. MethodsA mixture of 2‐NPG matrix and silica nanoparticles was applied to cyrosectioned 10 μm thick mouse brain tissue. The mixture was pipetted onto the tissue for profiling and sprayed for tissue imaging. MALDI images were obtained under high vacuum in a commercial time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer. ResultsThe combined 2‐NPG and nanoparticle matrix produced highly charged ions from tissue with high‐vacuum MALDI. Nanoparticles of 20, 70, 400, and 1000 nm in diameter were tested, the 20 nm particles producing the highest charge states. Images of mouse brain tissue obtained from highly charged ions show similar spatial localization. ConclusionsThe combined 2‐NPG and nanoparticle matrix produces highly charged ions from tissue through a mechanism that may rely on the high surface area of the particles which can dry the tissue, and their ability to bind analyte molecules thereby assisting in crystal formation and production of multiply charged ions on laser irradiation.more » « less
-
We examine the rheology of bicontinuous interfacially jammed emulsion gels (bijels) beyond the limit of linear viscoelasticity and propose a simple model that connects bijel rheology to anticipated microstructural changes in the continuous particle-laden interface. The basic elements of our model are constructed from a linear stress relaxation experiment, which suggests glasslike rheology mediated by α (out-of-cage) and β (in-cage) particle dynamics along the interface in this limit. Extending to medium amplitude oscillatory shear experiments then reveals signatures of nonlinearity, which we rationalize as the combined effect of shear-induced dilation of the interface and its simultaneous recompaction by interfacial tension, as well as potential buckling along portions of the interface under compression. Informed by these observations, we present a double Maxwell model with sigmoidal nonlinearities introduced to account for how interfacial dilation and recompaction affect the intercage particle dynamics (α relaxation) along the interface and buckling. This simple model successfully captures the general features of nonlinear rheology in bijels, indicating that their linear-to-nonlinear transition is associated with loss of compaction along the dilated and buckling along the compacted regions of the interface. Our results shed initial light on the microstructural origins of nonlinear rheology in bijels and the reconfigurability afforded in these systems by the balance of glassy particle dynamics and interfacial recompaction under shear deformation.more » « less
-
Abstract Although enzymes are efficient catalysts capable of converting various substrates into desired products with high specificity under mild conditions, their effectiveness as catalysts is substantially reduced when substrates are poorly water-soluble. In this study, to expedite the enzymatic conversion of a hydrophobic substrate, we use a bicontinuous interfacially jammed emulsion gel (bijel) which provides large interfacial area between two immiscible liquids: oil and water. Using lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of tributyrin as a model reaction in a batch mode, we show that bijels can be used as media to enable enzymatic reaction. The bijel system gives a four-fold increase in the initial reaction rate in comparison to a stirred biphasic medium. Our results demonstrate that bijels are powerful biphasic reaction media to accelerate enzymatic reactions with various hydrophobic reagents. This work also demonstrates that bijels can potentially be used as reaction media to enable continuous reactive separations.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c01440
