Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Yandrapalli, Naresh
• Robinson, Tom
• Antonietti, Markus
• Kumru, Baris

Titel

Graphitic Carbon Nitride Stabilizers Meet Microfluidics: From Stable Emulsions to Photoinduced Synthesis of Hollow Polymer Spheres

Ist Teil von

• Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany), 2020-08, Vol.16 (32), p.e2001180-n/a

Ort / Verlag

Weinheim: Wiley Subscription Services, Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2020

Quelle

Wiley Online Library - AutoHoldings Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Graphitic carbon nitride (g‐CN) has been utilized as a heterogeneous catalyst, but is usually not very well dispersible. The amphiphilic character of g‐CN can be altered by surface modifications of g‐CN nanopowders. Introducing hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity is a promising avenue for producing advanced emulsion systems. In this study, a special surface‐modified g‐CN is used to form stable Pickering emulsions. Using a PDMS‐based microfluidic device designed for stable production of both single and double emulsions, it is shown that surface‐modified g‐CNs allow the manufacture of unconventionally stable and precise Pickering emulsions. Shell thickness of the double emulsions is varied to emphasize the robustness of the device and also to demonstrate the extraordinary stabilization brought by the surface‐modified carbon nitride used in this study. Due to the electrostatic stabilization also in the oil phase, double emulsions are centered. Finally, when produced from polymerizable styrene, hollow polymer microparticles are formed with precise and tunable sizes, where g‐CN is utilized as the only stabilizer and photoinitiator. Surface modified graphitic carbon nitrides are excellent candidates as Pickering stabilizers in microfluidics for oil‐in‐water and water‐in‐oil emulsions. Electrostatic stability of carbon nitride in the oil phase grants centered water‐oil‐water double emulsions. When the oil phase consists of monomer, carbon nitride can be utilized both as stabilizer and photoinitiator for synthesis of hollow polymer spheres in a facile fashion.