“Magic Numbers” in Self-Faceting of Alcohol-Doped Emulsion Droplets

Sagi Hacmon; Shir R. Liber; Lee Shool; Alexander V. Butenko; Ayelet Atkins; Eli Sloutskin

doi:10.1002/smll.202301637

“Magic Numbers” in Self-Faceting of Alcohol-Doped Emulsion Droplets

Sagi Hacmon, Shir R. Liber, Lee Shool, Alexander V. Butenko, Ayelet Atkins, Eli Sloutskin

Department of Physics

Bar-Ilan University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Oil-in-water emulsion droplets spontaneously adopt, below some temperature T_d, counterintuitive faceted and complex non-spherical shapes while remaining liquid. This transition is driven by a crystalline monolayer formed at the droplets' surface. Here, we show that ppm-level doping of the droplet's bulk by long-chain alcohols allows tuning T_d by >50 °C, implying formation of drastically different interfacial structures. Furthermore, “magic” alcohol chain lengths maximize T_d. This we show to arise from self-assembly of mixed alcohol:alkane interfacial structures of stacked alkane layers, co-crystallized with hydrogen-bonded alcohol dimers. These structures are accounted for theoretically and resolved by direct cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryoTEM), confirming the proposed structures. The discovered tunability of key properties of commonly-used emulsions by minute concentrations of specific bulk additives should benefit these emulsions' technological applicability.

Original language	English
Article number	2301637
Number of pages	8
Journal	Small
Volume	19
Issue number	39
Early online date	31 May 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202301637
State	Published - 27 Sep 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Small published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.

Funding

S.H. and S.R.L. contributed equally to this work. This research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (grant no. 2205/21). The authors thank the Kahn Foundation for the funding of the equipment. The authors also thank Hiroki Matsubara (Hiroshima University), Luca Giomi, and Ireth Garcia-Aguilar (Leiden University) for discussions. The authors are grateful to Max Izoh and Ovadia Bezalel for their skillful technical assistance. S.H. and S.R.L. contributed equally to this work. This research was supported by the Israel Science Foundation (grant no. 2205/21). The authors thank the Kahn Foundation for the funding of the equipment. The authors also thank Hiroki Matsubara (Hiroshima University), Luca Giomi, and Ireth Garcia‐Aguilar (Leiden University) for discussions. The authors are grateful to Max Izoh and Ovadia Bezalel for their skillful technical assistance.

Funders	Funder number
Kahn Foundation
Universiteit Leiden
Israel Science Foundation	2205/21

Keywords

alcohols
alkanes
alkanols
curved 2D crystals
emulsion
faceted droplets
interfacial freezing

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10.1002/smll.202301637

Cite this

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abstract = "Oil-in-water emulsion droplets spontaneously adopt, below some temperature Td, counterintuitive faceted and complex non-spherical shapes while remaining liquid. This transition is driven by a crystalline monolayer formed at the droplets' surface. Here, we show that ppm-level doping of the droplet's bulk by long-chain alcohols allows tuning Td by >50 °C, implying formation of drastically different interfacial structures. Furthermore, “magic” alcohol chain lengths maximize Td. This we show to arise from self-assembly of mixed alcohol:alkane interfacial structures of stacked alkane layers, co-crystallized with hydrogen-bonded alcohol dimers. These structures are accounted for theoretically and resolved by direct cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryoTEM), confirming the proposed structures. The discovered tunability of key properties of commonly-used emulsions by minute concentrations of specific bulk additives should benefit these emulsions' technological applicability.",

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“Magic Numbers” in Self-Faceting of Alcohol-Doped Emulsion Droplets

Abstract

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Keywords

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