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    Molecular structure-tuned stability and switchability of CO2-responsive oil-in-water emulsions

    Year: 2022

    Journal: J. Colloid Interface Sci., Volume 627, DEC, page 661–670

    Authors: Liu, Lingfei; Zhang, Mingshan; Lu, Zhouguang; Jin, Zhehui; Lu, Yi; Sun, Dejun; Xu, Zhenghe

    Organizations: National Natural Science Foundation of China [21938003, 51974162]; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Interfacial Science and Engineering of Materials [ZDSYS20200421111401738]; Leading Talents of Guangdong Province Program [2016LJ06C536]; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada [NSERC2017-05080]; China Scholarship Council; Westgrid; Compute Canada

    Keywords: Pseudo-Gemini surfactant; CO2-responsive emulsion; Spacer length and structure; Molecular dynamics simulation

    Hypothesis: Pseudo-Gemini surfactants (PGS) possessing switchable and recyclable features have drawn increasing attention on generating high-performance CO2-responsive emulsions for wide range and versatile applications. However, there is a lack of fundamental understanding on how the molecular structure of PGS affects the stability and switchability of emulsions. We hypothesize that the length and type of the spacer in PGS play a decisive role in controlling interfacial and switching properties. Experiments: Two series of PGS with different spacers were prepared through electrostatic association between amines and oleic acid. The interfacial activity and CO2-responsive properties of corresponding emulsions were systematically investigated by well-designed experiments and molecular dynamics simulations. Findings: Increasing the spacer length to allow the bent configuration leads to more tight arrangement of oleic molecules, consequently improving the interfacial activity. In addition, the introduction of amino group into the spacer dramatically promotes CO2 response of resulting PGS due to ehanced migration of the spacer from the interface to the aqueous phase after CO2 addition. These results are inspiring in designing controllable CO2-responsive emulsions for a wide range of industrial applications (e.g., enhanced oil recovery and oil-contaminated soil remediation). (C) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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