Oil-water Pickering emulsions of about 200 nm were stabilized by nanosized hydrophilic silica after a simple surface treatment method. We have modified the aqueous silica nanoparticle dispersions by simple adsorption of oleic acid to their surfaces, improving the hydrophobicity of the particles while maintaining their charge and stability. The adsorption was monitored by small-angle X-ray scattering and electrophoretic measurements to estimate the interparticle interactions and surface charges. The effect of various parameters, such as nanoparticle concentration, amount of oleic acid, ionic strength, and pH, on the droplets' size and stability was investigated by dynamic light scattering. Furthermore, the ability of these modified silica nanoparticles to stabilize long-chain alkanes, liquid paraffin, and liquid-crystalline phases was examined.

Thymine (Thy) or 2,6-diamino-1,3,5-triazine (DAT) end-groups were efficiently installed on well-defined polyethylenes (PEs) synthesized by catalyzed chain growth (CCG) polymerization. Mono-and bifunctional low-molar mass PEs (1200−1500 g•mol −1 ) formed lamellar morphologies with long-range order upon cooling from the melt due to microphase segregation of polar supramolecular units and apolar PE chains. Crystallization of Thy functions into rigid planes at 180 °C induced very long-range lamellar order in Thy-functionalized PEs and dramatically suppressed PE crystallization (from 67% to 19%). DAT-functionalized PEs, whose end-groups do not crystallize, showed slightly reduced PE crystallinity (62%) and less long-range order, since assembly was instead driven by PE crystallization. Mechanical analysis of the bifunctional PEs demonstrated high moduli roughly proportional to PE crystallinity but low strains at break due to the absence of chain entanglements and/or tie chains between crystalline lamellae. This work offers important insights for designing supramolecular systems with tunable thermal and mechanical properties.

Herein, we investigate a synthetic approach to prepare copper indium sulfide nanocrystals at room temperature.

Transfer of lipids between droplets in Pickering emulsions has been studied by time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The special features of self-assembled liquid-crystalline phases have been applied to examine the kinetics of internal phase reorganization imposed by lipid release and uptake by the droplets. The findings reveal faster transfer kinetics in Pickering emulsions than in emulsions stabilized with Pluronic F127. It is shown that the transfer kinetics can be accelerated by adding free surfactant to the dispersions and that this acceleration becomes more dominant when micelles are formed. The effect of immobilization of the droplets has been studied by incorporating them into the appropriate hydrogel network. The droplets are arrested, and the transfer slows down significantly at high enough concentrations of the hydrogel where nonergodic systems are obtained.