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A role of visible light–mediated surface grafting on nano-SiO2 in Pickering emulsions

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Abstract

The fast development of Pickering emulsion systems inspires burgeoning demand on the universal synthesis platform for the surface modification of solid particle emulsifiers. In this work, a mild and convenient “visible light–mediated surface grafting through (VSGT)” strategy is proposed. Through the two-step strategy, silica nanoparticles (SNPs) were firstly modified by vinyl alkoxysilane and then used as the substrate for grafting homopolymer brushes via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization under the irradiation of a compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) light source. The whole process was proceeded at room temperature without tedious conditions and complex operations. Importantly, simply by changing the monomer types, hydrophilic acrylic polymer chains can all be grafted on SNP with controlled chain length and relatively uniform high surface densities including poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMA), poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM), and poly(diacetone acrylamide) (PDAAM). Through the synthesis platform, the interfacial performance of the surface-grafted nanoparticles exhibited as amendable working as Pickering emulsifiers in oil–water system, illustrated by the evolution of interfacial tensions and the inner structures of the corresponding Pickering emulsions. Moreover, the emulsion stabilized by SNP-g-PAA and SNP-g-PNIPAM showed pH and temperature triggered emulsification-demulsification behaviors, respectively, convincing the contribution of the surface grafted polymers and provide a feasible clue for the subtle design on the interfacial texture in advanced Pickering emulsions.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2020YFE0100300) and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities at Beijing University of Chemical Technology (Grant No. JD2109).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Organic-Inorganic Composites, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, People’s Republic of China

    Anle Zhang, Teng Qiu, Huangbing Xu, Longhai Guo & Xiaoyu Li

  2. Key Laboratory of Carbon Fiber and Functional Polymers, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, People’s Republic of China

    Teng Qiu, Huangbing Xu, Jun Ye, Lifan He & Xiaoyu Li

  3. Beijing Engineering Research Center of Synthesis and Application of Waterborne Polymer, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, People’s Republic of China

    Anle Zhang, Yutian Yan & Longhai Guo

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  1. Anle Zhang
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The manuscript was written through contributions of all authors. All authors have given approval to the final version of the manuscript.

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Zhang, A., Qiu, T., Xu, H. et al. A role of visible light–mediated surface grafting on nano-SiO2 in Pickering emulsions. Colloid Polym Sci 299, 1819–1831 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-021-04880-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-021-04880-z

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