A simple and effective strategy to enhance the stability and solid-liquid interfacial interaction of an emulsion by the interfacial dilational rheological properties

Jinmei Lei; Yuxia Gao; Xu Hou; Zhizhi Sheng; Chenhui Zhang; Fengpei Du

doi:10.1039/d0sm00638f

A simple and effective strategy to enhance the stability and solid-liquid interfacial interaction of an emulsion by the interfacial dilational rheological properties

Soft Matter. 2020 Jun 24;16(24):5650-5658. doi: 10.1039/d0sm00638f.

Authors

Jinmei Lei¹, Yuxia Gao², Xu Hou³, Zhizhi Sheng⁴, Chenhui Zhang², Fengpei Du²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Applied Chemistry, College of Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China. dufp@cau.edu.cn zhch@cau.edu.cn and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China and State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
² Department of Applied Chemistry, College of Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China. dufp@cau.edu.cn zhch@cau.edu.cn.
³ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China and State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
⁴ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China and Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China.

PMID: 32514509
DOI: 10.1039/d0sm00638f

Abstract

The development of an emulsion is an important challenge in many fields, such as agrochemicals, pharmaceutics, paints, cosmetics, inkjet printing, and food science. However, the traditional strategies that refer to the empirical value and complex secondary additives cannot reflect the influence of the structure, content, compound, and adsorption of emulsifiers. Here, we propose a simple and effective strategy to develop the emulsion, wherein the emulsifiers are chosen based on the dilational rheological properties of the interfacial films at the molecular level. The dilational rheological properties of polyoxyethylene (80) castor oil (EL-80), sorbitan monostearate (Span 60), and their emulsions were explored by the oscillating drop method. Based on the dilational rheological properties, the emulsions were prepared by the phase inversion emulsification technique. The results showed that the emulsion was stable and realized effective solid-liquid interfacial interaction, which was attributed to the large dilational modulus (intermolecular interaction) at the oil/water interface and loss modulus (molecular diffusion exchange) at the air/water interface. These factors reduced the Ostwald ripening and coalescence, and finally increased the spreading diameter. Additionally, the prochloraz 25% emulsion in water (EW) and difenoconazole 20% EW were developed to verify the feasibility of the strategy. Therefore, this research advances the understanding of an emulsion by interfacial dilational rheological properties, which can provide a simple and effective strategy to develop a stable emulsion and achieve an effective solid-liquid interfacial interaction of the emulsion.