By taking advantage of the formation and assembly of rod-like and sheet-like surfactants at the water/oil, specifically through the interactions of polar cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) or two-dimensional (2D) transition metal carbides and nitrides, Maxenes, with end-functionalized polymer chains, emulsions can easily be produced. The packing density of CNC and Maxene surfactants at the interface can be effectively adjusted by tuning parameters, such as pH, ionic strength, and concentration/molecular weight of the end-functionalized polymer ligands. Stable emulsions with non-spherical shapes are obtained during a homogenization procedure, as a result of the interfacial jamming of CNCSs, with pH-triggered reconfigurability. Porous materials are prepared by freeze-drying creamed, CNC surfactant-stabilized or MXene surfactant-stabilized emulsions. The cells of the porous materials have a controlled pore size and shape that are commensurate with the droplets in the emulsion and are shown to be responsive to pH. We demonstrate adaptive, reconfigurable supra-colloidal systems whose behaviours are coupled to its internal and surrounding environment. This simple assembly strategy opens a new platform for the fabrication of functional CNC and MXene assemblies from the mesoscale (e.g. structured liquids) to the macroscale (e.g. aerogels), that can be used for a range of applications, including nanocomposites, electronic devices, and all-liquid microfluidic devices.

Porous materials from cellulose nanocrystal and mxene surfactants at the oil/water interface

ACS Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting

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