Laponite/lauric arginate stabilized AKD Pickering emulsions with shell-tunable hydrolytic resistance for use in sizing paper

Abstract

Utilizing the assembly and formation of laponite/lauric arginate (LAE) complexes near the water-oil interface, where laponite and LAE interact, the stability and preparation of alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) Pickering emulsions with tunable shells were investigated. Stable spherical emulsions were generated with homogenization due to the interfacial jamming of laponite/LAE complexes. The packing density of laponite at the oil/water interface was adjustable via LAE concentration tuning. The Pickering system with a tunable shell, droplet size, resistance to oil agglomeration and hydrolysis over a long period of time was achieved based on LAE loading. Hydrophobic paper with a 126.6° of water contact angle was prepared under a surface sizing process with the laponite/LAE-stabilized AKD emulsion loading of 0.12 wt% LAE, which exhibited 90 days' long-term storage stability. The confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) shows that laponite/LAE forms a dense layer at the oil/water interface and 3D-network in a continuous phase. The properties provided by laponite/LAE, a highly efficient complex with resistance to phase permeability and hydrolysis, open new opportunities in biodegradable and food-grade emulsifiers for paper sizing agents, where LAE achieves synergistic effects with laponite.