title: Pickering Emulsions Responsive to CO2/N2 and Light Dual Stimuli at Ambient Temperature.
abstract: A dual stimuli-responsive n-octane-in-water Pickering emulsion with CO2/N2 and light triggers is prepared using negatively charged silica nanoparticles in combination with a trace amount of dual switchable surfactant, 4-butyl-4-(4-N,N-dimethylbutoxyamine) azobenzene bicarbonate (AZO-B4), as stabilizers. On one hand, the emulsion can be transformed between stable and unstable at ambient temperature rapidly via the N2/CO2 trigger, and on the other hand, a change in droplet size of the emulsion can occur upon light irradiation/rehomogenization cycles without changing the particle/surfactant concentration. The dual responsiveness thus allows for a precise control of emulsion properties. Compared with emulsions stabilized by specially synthesized stimuli-responsive particles or by stimuli-responsive surfactants, the method reported here is much easier and requires a relatively low concentration of surfactant (≈1/10 cmc), which is important for potential applications.
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Food Colloids and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University , 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jianzhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Food Colloids and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University , 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yuxuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: The Key Laboratory of Food Colloids and Biotechnology, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University , 1800 Lihu Road, Wuxi, Jiangsu, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhenggang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Hull , Hull HU6 7RX, U.K.
authors.forename: Bernard P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Binks