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Bicontinuous emulsions stabilized solely by colloidal particles

Nature Materials volume 6, pages 966–971 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Recent large-scale computer simulations suggest that it may be possible to create a new class of soft solids, called ‘bijels’, by stabilizing and arresting the bicontinuous interface in a binary liquid demixing via spinodal decomposition using particles that are neutrally wetted by both liquids1. The interfacial layer of particles is expected to be semi-permeable2; hence, if realized, these new materials would have many potential applications, for example, as micro-reaction media. However, the creation of bijels in the laboratory faces serious obstacles3. In general, fast quench rates are necessary to bypass nucleation, so that only samples with limited thickness can be produced, which destroys the three-dimensionality of the putative bicontinuous network. Moreover, even a small degree of unequal wettability of the particles by the two liquids can lead to ill-characterized, ‘lumpy’ interfacial layers and therefore irreproducible material properties3. Here, we report a reproducible protocol for creating three-dimensional samples of bijel in which the interfaces are stabilized by essentially a single layer of particles. We demonstrate how to tune the mean interfacial separation in these bijels, and show that mechanically, they indeed behave as soft solids. These characteristics and their tunability will be of great value for microfluidic applications.

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Figure 1: Formation of bijel via phase separation.
Figure 2: Structure and mechanical properties of bijels.
Figure 3: Influence of particle volume fraction on domain size.
Figure 4: Influence of liquid composition on emulsion morphology.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to M. Cates, B. Binks, T. Horozov, E. Kim and H. Vass for productive discussions. Financial support was provided by EPSRC Grants EP/D076986/1 and EP/E502652/1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. SUPA, School of Physics, University of Edinburgh, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, UK

    E. M. Herzig, K. A. White, A. B. Schofield, W. C. K. Poon & P. S. Clegg

  2. COSMIC, University of Edinburgh, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JZ, UK

    E. M. Herzig, K. A. White, W. C. K. Poon & P. S. Clegg

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  1. E. M. Herzig
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Correspondence to P. S. Clegg.

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Herzig, E., White, K., Schofield, A. et al. Bicontinuous emulsions stabilized solely by colloidal particles. Nature Mater 6, 966–971 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2055

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