Influence of the hydrophile–lipophile balance of perfluorinated surfactants on the emulsion stability

IF 4.1 3区 材料科学 Q2 MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Gaia De Angelis, Esther Amstad
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Emulsions are omnipresent in our everyday life; for example, in food, certain drug and cosmetic formulations, agriculture, and as paints. Moreover, they are frequently used to perform high-throughput screening assays with minimum sample volumes. Key to the successful use of emulsions is a good drop stability. Most frequently, drops are stabilized with surfactants composed of hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts. Appropriate surfactants are often selected based on the ratio of their hydrophilic to the hydrophobic parts, their hydrophilic–lipophilic balance (HLB), which determines their solubility. However, how the HLB value of perfluorinated surfactants influences the emulsion stability remains to be determined. To address this question, we report a benign and cost-effective synthesis of diblock-copolymer surfactants that consist of a perfluorinated block covalently linked to a hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-encompassing block. The compositions of the fluorophilic and hydrophilic blocks are very similar to those of commercially available triblock-copolymer surfactants commonly used within the microfluidic community that employs poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based devices. By deliberately tuning the ratio of the hydrophobic to the hydrophilic blocks of our diblock-copolymer surfactants, we obtain HLB values varying between 0.9 and 3.3. We demonstrate that the best emulsion stability is obtained if the molecular weight ratio of the hydrophobic to the hydrophilic blocks is between 5 and 7, corresponding to HLB values between 2.5 and 3.3. Importantly, our cost-effective surfactant displays a similar performance to that of the rather costly commercially available Pico-Surf surfactant. Thereby, this study presents guidelines for a cheap, benign, and targeted synthesis of appropriate perfluorinated surfactants that efficiently stabilize water-in-perfluorinated oil emulsions.

Graphical abstract

Abstract Image

全氟表面活性剂的亲水-亲油平衡对乳液稳定性的影响
乳液在我们的日常生活中无处不在,例如在食品、某些药物和化妆品配方、农业以及涂料中。此外,它们还经常被用于以最小的样品量进行高通量筛选检测。良好的液滴稳定性是成功使用乳剂的关键。液滴通常由亲水和疏水部分组成的表面活性剂来稳定。选择合适的表面活性剂通常基于其亲水和疏水部分的比例,即亲水-亲油平衡(HLB),这决定了其溶解性。然而,全氟表面活性剂的 HLB 值如何影响乳液稳定性仍有待确定。为了解决这个问题,我们报告了一种良性且具有成本效益的二嵌段共聚物表面活性剂的合成方法,这种表面活性剂由全氟嵌段与亲水性聚乙二醇(PEG)包络嵌段共价连接而成。亲氟块和亲水块的组成与市售的三嵌段共聚物表面活性剂非常相似,后者通常用于基于聚二甲基硅氧烷(PDMS)的微流体装置。通过有意调整二嵌段共聚物表面活性剂中疏水嵌段与亲水嵌段的比例,我们获得了介于 0.9 与 3.3 之间的 HLB 值。我们证明,如果疏水嵌段与亲水嵌段的分子量比介于 5 与 7 之间,HLB 值介于 2.5 与 3.3 之间,则可获得最佳的乳液稳定性。重要的是,我们的高性价比表面活性剂与市场上价格昂贵的 Pico-Surf 表面活性剂具有相似的性能。因此,本研究为廉价、良性和有针对性地合成适当的全氟表面活性剂提供了指导,这种表面活性剂可有效稳定水包全氟油乳剂。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Mrs Bulletin
Mrs Bulletin 工程技术-材料科学:综合
CiteScore
7.40
自引率
2.00%
发文量
193
审稿时长
4-8 weeks
期刊介绍: MRS Bulletin is one of the most widely recognized and highly respected publications in advanced materials research. Each month, the Bulletin provides a comprehensive overview of a specific materials theme, along with industry and policy developments, and MRS and materials-community news and events. Written by leading experts, the overview articles are useful references for specialists, but are also presented at a level understandable to a broad scientific audience.
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