Preparation of Stable Silicone Oil Emulsions in the Presence of Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose

Abstract

Oil-in-water emulsions were prepared by dispersion of various silicone oils in an aqueous solution of hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) as a function of mixing time. The mixing time of 10 s leads to a stable emulsion, indicating that adsorbed HPMC chains act as a good protective agent for the preparation of silicone oil emulsions. The resulting emulsions were characterized by combining size measurement and rheology techniques. The size of the oil droplets showed much change with the mixing time: the size decreased with an increase in the mixing time, and after 20 min of agitation the size showed little change. The respective emulsions showed pseudoplastic flow and solid-like viscoelastic responses; their steady-state shear viscosities and dynamic moduli increased with an increase in the effective volume fraction of oil droplets in the emulsion.