Particle-Stabilized High Internal Phase Emulsions as Templates for Porous Nanocomposite Materials

Abstract

Functionalized nanometer calcium carbonate (nanoCaCO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> ) particles were synthesized and used as emulsifier to stabilize High Internal Phase Emulsions (HIPEs). The porous polyacrylamide/CaCO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> (PAM/CaCO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> ) nanocomposite materials were prepared by CaCO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> -stabilized HIPEs templates. The influence of the content of nano-CaCO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> particles on the stability of emulsions, and the morphology of the corresponding materials were all investigated. The photographs of HIPEs showed that the nano-CaCO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> particles with a contact angle O slight lower than 90° and appropriate content could effectively stabilize oil-in-water (o/w) emulsions. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that the pores of the PAM/CaCO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> composites were close-cellular structure, and the average pore sizes were hundreds of micrometers in diameter.