Nano cellulose has attracted more attentions as promising stabilizer candidate for Pickering emulsions due to its renewable and biocompatible properties. In this work, spherical cellulose nanocrystals (S-CNCs) (diameter 30-60 nm) were prepared by mixed acid hydrolysis of mercerized microcrystalline cellulose under the treatment of ultrasonic. We characterized the Pickering emulsions stabilized by various S-CNCs concentration in the aqueous phase and visualized their distribution in emulsions system. The diameter of emulsion droplets has no increase after 7 days storage. The emulsions present ultra-low viscosity even at a high S-CNCs concentration in the aqueous phase (5 g/L). Furthermore, noting that Pickering emulsions droplets stabilized by S-CNCs exhibited high stability even pH, ionic strengths, and temperatures changed in wide range. Thus, the S-CNCs acted as a new stabilizer for Pickering emulsion open opportunities for the development of biomedicine, cosmetics, and food applications.
Keywords: High stability; Pickering emulsion; Spherical cellulose nanocrystals; Ultra-low viscosity.
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