We showed these last years that it was possible to obtain highly stable oil-in-water Pickering emulsions stabilized only by unmodified cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). The amazing properties of these systems in terms of stability and mechanical behaviour are due both to their anisotropic shape and to the irreversible nature of the particles adsorption.<br/>Another biphasic system involving two aqueous phases is studied. Emulsions involving two incompatible hydrosoluble polymers can form water-in-water (W/W) emulsions. This type of emulsion cannot be stabilized by surfactants as the interface is expressed only on length scales larger than the correlation length of the polymer solutions. However, in recent years it has been shown that such emulsions can be stabilized by colloidal particles. We show that CNC can stabilize such W/W emulsions forming a layer at the surface of droplets formed by the PEO-rich phase in a dextran-rich dispersed phase. Using the ability of CNCs to associate by adding NaCl, some “emulgels” are further characterized.

Cellulose nanocrystals to stabilize water-in-water Pickering emulsions and emulsion gels

2019 Spring National Meeting

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