Wettability of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Tuned to Control Pickering Emulsions Properties

 

Scientific Achievement

Control of emulsion type and droplet size by tuning the wettability of carbon nanotubes through oxidation.

Significance and Impact

Understanding how to control emulsion properties allows for control over emulsion interfacial area. Tuning of diffusion of molecules between oil and water phases can be achieved by controlling the interfacial area, which can have implications for reactions carried out in biphasic systems.

Research Details

• Tuning carbon nanotube wettability results in emulsion inversion and change in droplet size, similar to behavior reported with silica nanoparticles. This demonstrates that fundamental aspect governing this change in emulsion type may be the same for silica and carbon nanotubes.
• Blends of carbon nanotubes of different wettability can be used to change emulsion type and droplet size.