Emulsion Engineering: A convenient route to structured oils using polymer mediated, reversible emulsion droplet assembly

Condensed Matter lunchtime seminar

Emulsion Engineering: A convenient route to structured oils using polymer mediated, reversible emulsion droplet assembly

  • Event time: 1:00pm
  • Event date: 1st June 2009
  • Speaker: Jon Weaver (Materials Discovery Liverpool University)
  • Location: Room 2511,

Event details

Emulsions are a generic and well-established technology with a fundamental role in a range of modern products, formulations, and technologies. The introduction of new advanced properties and functionality to these dispersed biphasic systems has significant industrial and academic implications. In this talk I discuss how fluid emulsion droplets of micrometer dimensions can be assembled into mechanically robust materials with macroscale dimensions. The assembly process - which is driven solely by hydrogen-bonding complexation between copolymer surfactant stabilizers - is reversible. Thus these extended hierarchical structures, which we refer to as Engineered Emulsions, can be disassembled back to conventional dispersed emulsion droplets in response to pH changes. The assembly process can be controlled by varying the copolymer surfactant composition and selective disassembly can be achieved by judicious choice of the oil phase and by employing a dual-trigger.

About Condensed Matter lunchtime seminars

This is a weekly series of informal talks given primarily by members of the institute of condensed matter and complex systems, but is also open to members of other groups and external visitors. The aim of the series is to promote discussion and learning of various topics at a level suitable to the broad background of the group. Everyone is welcome to attend..

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