Nonaqueous Pickering emulsions exhibit promising applications
in
many industrial areas but have been relatively less studied in the
past. In this study, n-hexane-in-DMF nonaqueous Pickering
emulsions stabilized by core cross-linked copolymer worms with mixed
shells are demonstrated for the first time. Core cross-linked copolymer
worms with mixed shells were prepared by seeded reversible addition–fragmentation
chain transfer (RAFT) quasi-solution polymerization. Specifically,
polystyrene-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-P4VP) diblock copolymer worms
were first prepared via RAFT-mediated dispersion polymerization in
toluene under the given conditions using PS as both the macro-CTA
and the stabilizer block. After the chemical cross-linking of P4VP
cores, PS-P4VP diblock copolymer worms were chain-extended with LMA
in DMF/toluene (1:9, weight ratio) mixed solvents, producing core
cross-linked PS-P4VP-PLMA worms with PS/PLMA mixed shells. The as-prepared
core cross-linked PS-P4VP-PLMA worms with mixed PS/PLMA shells were
further utilized as Pickering emulsifiers for the generation of nonaqueous n-hexane-in-DMF Pickering emulsions. The emulsifying performances
of mixed-shell copolymer worms were compared with those of their spherical
and linear analogues with entirely identical chemical compositions
as well as PS-P4VP diblock copolymer worm precursors, respectively.
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