Current Trends in Pickering Emulsions: Particle Morphology and Applications

In recent years,Pickering emulsions and their applications have attracted a great deal of attention due to their special features,which include easy preparation and enhanced stability.In contrast to classical emulsions,in Pickering emulsions,solid microparticles or nanoparticles that localize at the interface between liquids are used as stabilizers,instead of surfactants,to enhance the droplet lifetime.Furthermore,Pickering emulsions show higher stability,lower toxicity,and stimuli-responsiveness,compared with emulsions that are stabilized by surfactants.Therefore,they can be considered attractive components for various uses,such as photocatalysis and the preparation of new materials.Moreover,the nanoparticle morphology strongly influences Pickering emulsion stability as well as the potential utilization of such emulsions.Here,we review recent findings concerning Pickering emulsions,with a particular focus on how the nanoparticles morphology(i.e.,cube,ellipsoid,nanosheet,sphere,cylinder,rod,peanut)influences the type and stability of such emulsions,and their current applications in different fields such as antibacterial activity,protein recognition,catalysis,photocatalysis,and water purification.

Use of digital image analysis combined with fractal theory to determine particle morphology and surface texture of quartz sands

The particle morphology and surface texture play a major role in influencing mechanical and hydraulic behaviors of sandy soils. This paper presents the use of digital image analysis combined with fractal theory as a tool to quantify the particle morphology and surface texture of two types of quartz sands widely used in the region of Vitória, Espírito Santo, southeast of Brazil. The two investigated sands are sampled from different locations. The purpose of this paper is to present a simple, straightforward,reliable and reproducible methodology that can identify representative sandy soil texture parameters.The test results of the soil samples of the two sands separated by sieving into six size fractions are presented and discussed. The main advantages of the adopted methodology are its simplicity, reliability of the results, and relatively low cost. The results show that sands from the coastal spit(BS) have a greater degree of roundness and a smoother surface texture than river sands(RS). The values obtained in the test are statistically analyzed, and again it is confirmed that the BS sand has a slightly greater degree of sphericity than that of the RS sand. Moreover, the RS sand with rough surface texture has larger specific surface area values than the similar BS sand, which agree with the obtained roughness fractal dimensions. The consistent experimental results demonstrate that image analysis combined with fractal theory is an accurate and efficient method to quantify the differences in particle morphology and surface texture of quartz sands.

Investigations of the effects of particle morphology on granular material behaviors using a multi-sphere approach

This article studies the influences of particle morphology on the behaviors of granular materials at both macroscopic and microscopic levels based on the discrete element method(DEM).A set of numerical tests under drained triaxial compression was performed by controlling two morphological descriptors,i.e.ratio of the smallest to the largest pebble diameter,x,and the maximum pebbleepebble intersection angle,b.These descriptors are vital in generating particle geometry and surface textures.It was found that the stress responses of all assemblies exhibited similar behavior and showed post-peak strainsoftening.The normalized stress ratio and volumetric strains flatten off and tended to reach a steady value after an axial strain of 40%.While the friction angles at peak state varied with different morphological descriptors,the friction angles at critical state showed no significant variation.Moreover,evolution of the average coordination numbers showed a dramatic exponential decay until an axial strain of about 15%after which it stabilized and was unaffected by further increase of axial strain.In addition,stress ratio q/p and strong fabric parameter fs d=fs m were found to follow an approximately linear relationship for each assembly.These findings emphasized the significance of the influences of particle morphology on the macroscopic and microscopic responses of granular materials.

Particle morphology control for spherical powder fabrication using the ball milling process with DEM simulation

Characteristics of spherical particles on copper powder and changing sizes were studied in a ball mill under various experimental conditions,such as different ball diameters,high rotation speeds,and milling times,using a discrete element method(DEM)simulation.This experiment has investigated the characteristics of spherical particle morphology evolution involved in the mechanical alloying of copper powder.The morphological evolution of the copper particle was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy(SEM).A spherical copper particle was shown with a roundness value using imageJ software.The DEM was used to simulate the ball motion in a planetary ball mill,and the impact energy and shear energy generated during the collision were analyzed to estimate the contact number between the ball and the ball wall.Therefore,as the size of the ball decreased,the number of ball-to-ball and ball-to-wall contacts increased accordingly,and the spherical shape of the copper powder changed.

INFLUENCES OF ACID POST-TREATMENT ON THE MORPHOLOGY OF SOAP-FREE P(MMA-EA-MAA)PARTICLES PREPARED BY SEEDED EMULSION POLYMERIZATION

Soap-free poly（methyl methacrylate-ethyl acrylate-methacrylic acid） latex particles with narrow size distribution were synthesized by seeded emulsion polymerization, and the porous particles were created by a stepwise alkali/acid treatment method. Effects of acid treatment conditions on the particle morphology were investigated. Results show that one to three pores were formed inside most of particles after post-treatment. At pH 7.0, when the treatment temperature was lower than 70℃, the size of particles and the volume of pores remained almost unchanged, and these two values increased significantly when the temperature was higher than 70℃. Both the particle size and the pore volume decreased with the increase of initial pH value and treatment time in the acid treatment. As the pH was below 4.0 and the treatment time was longer than 180 min, the particles shrunk in size.

Direct measurement and theoretical prediction model of interparticle adhesion force between irregular planetary regolith particles

Interparticle adhesion force has a controlling effect on the physical and mechanical properties of planetary regolith and rocks.The current research on the adhesion force of planetary regolith and rock particles has been primarily based on the assumption of smooth spherical particles to calculate the intergranular adhesion force;this approach lacks consideration for the adhesion force between irregular shaped particles.In our study,an innovative approach was established to directly measure the adhesion force between the arbitrary irregular shaped particles;the probe was modified using simulated lunar soil particles that were a typical representation of planetary regolith.The experimental results showed that for irregular shaped mineral particles,the particle size and mineral composition had no significant influence on the interparticle adhesion force;however,the complex morphology of the contact surface predominantly controlled the adhesion force.As the contact surface roughness increased,the adhesion force gradually decreased,and the rate of decrease gradually slowed;these results were consistent with the change trend predicted via the theoretical models of quantum electrodynamics.Moreover,a theoretical model to predict the adhesion force between the irregular shaped particles was constructed based on Rabinovich’s theory,and the prediction results were correlated with the experimental measurements.

Isotropic compression behavior of granular assembly with non-spherical particles by X-ray micro-computed tomography and discrete element modeling

The particle morphological properties,such as sphericity,concavity and convexity,of a granular assembly significantly affect its macroscopic and microscopic compressive behaviors under isotropic loading condition.However,limited studies on investigating the microscopic behavior of the granular assembly with real particle shapes under isotropic compression were reported.In this study,X-ray computed tomography(mCT)and discrete element modeling(DEM)were utilized to investigate isotropic compression behavior of the granular assembly with regard to the particle morphological properties,such as particle sphericity,concavity and interparticle frictions.The mCT was first used to extract the particle morphological parameters and then the DEM was utilized to numerically investigate the influences of the particle morphological properties on the isotropic compression behavior.The image reconstruction from mCT images indicated that the presented particle quantification algorithm was robust,and the presented microscopic analysis via the DEM simulation demonstrated that the particle surface concavity significantly affected the isotropic compression behavior.The observations of the particle connectivity and local void ratio distribution also provided insights into the granular assembly under isotropic compression.Results found that the particle concavity and interparticle friction influenced the most of the isotropic compression behavior of the granular assemblies.

Monitoring the morphology evolution of LiNi_(0.8)Mn_(0.1)Co_(0.1)O_(2)during high-temperature solid state synthesis via in situ SEM

The particle morphology determined by the sintering process is the director factor affecting the electrochemical performance of Ni-rich NMC cathode materials.To prepare the ideal NMC particles,it is of great significance to understand the morphological changes during sintering process.In this work,the morphology evolution of LiNi_(0.8)Mn_(0.1)Co_(0.1)O_(2)(NMC811)synthesis at temperature ranging from 300–1080℃were observed by in situ SEM.The uniform mixture of spherical Ni_(0.8)Mn_(0.1)Co_(0.1)(OH)_(2)precursor and lithium sources(LiOH)was employed by high temperature solid-state process inside the SEM,which enables us to observe morphology changes in real time.The results show that synthetic reaction of LiNi_(0.8)Mn_(0.1)Co_(0.1)O_(2)usually includes three processes:the raw materials’dehydration,oxidation,and combination,accompanied by a significant reduction in particle size,which is important reference to control the synthesis temperature.As heating temperature rise,the morphology of mixture also changed from flake to brick-shaped.However,Ni nanoparticle formation is apparent at higher temperature~1000℃,suggesting a structural transformation from a layered to a rock-salt-like structure.Combining the in-situ observed changes in size and morphology,and with the premise of ensuring the morphology change from flakes to bricks,reducing the sintering temperature as much as possible to prevent excessive reduction in particle size and layered to a rock-salt structure transformation is recommended for prepare ideal NMC particles.

Some insight on the structure/activity relationship of metal nanoparticles in Cu/SiO2 catalysts

The activity of two Cu/SiO2 catalysts prepared by the chemisorption hydrolysis technique has been tested in the hydrogenation reaction of 3-methyl-cyclohexanone. Both catalysts were found to be very active at 60 ℃ and 1 atm of H2. Characterization of the materials by FT-IR of adsorbed CO and TEM put in light the presence of well formed Cu cristallites. By assuming a cuboctahedral model we could show that the hydrogenation activity is linked to high coordination sites on the metal particle. A comparison is also reported with a sample prepared by ammonia evaporation that was found to be inactive in the hydrogenation reaction under the same experimental conditions.

Storage Stability of Alpha-Lipoic Acid-loaded Lipid Nanoparticles

Alpha-lipoic acid-loaded lipid nanoparticles(ALA-LNs) were prepared by high pressure homogenization method.The influences of storage conditions such as time and temperature on the physical and chemical storage stability of ALA-LNs were studied in details.The stability was evaluated by particle size and polydispersity index,morphology of ALA-LNs,and capacity of ALA loading.The dilution and pH stability of ALA-LNs suspensions were also studied.After three months storage,the mean size of ALA-LNs at 4 and 40 ℃ was increased by 2.68% and 3.62% compared with the original size,respectively.ALA-LNs stored at 40 ℃ had ellipsoid shape and the mean size was about 152 nm(SD=23.6).The loading capacity of ALA at 40 ℃ was much higher than those stored at other two temperatures.The good dilution and pH stability were also demonstrated.The sample had good fluidity even at 4 ℃.

Surface reconstruction with spherical harmonics and its application for single particle crushing simulations

Particle morphology has great influence on mechanical behaviour and hydro/thermal/electrical conductivities of granular materials.Surface reconstruction and mesh generation are critical to consider realistic particle shapes in various computational simulations.This study adopts the combined finitediscrete element method(FDEM)to investigate single particle crushing behaviour.Particle shapes were reconstructed with spherical harmonic(SH)in both spherical and Cartesian coordinate systems.Furthermore,the reconstructed surface mesh qualities in two coordinate systems are investigated and compared.Although the efficiency of the two SH systems in reconstructing star-like shapes is nearly identical,SH in Cartesian coordinate system can reconstruct non-star-like shapes with the help of surface parameterisation.Meanwhile,a higher triangular mesh quality is generated with spherical coordinate.In single particle crushing tests,the low mesh quality produces more fluctuations on load-displacement curves.The particles with more surficial mesh elements tend to have a lower contact stiffness due to more contact stress concentrations induced by complexity of morphology features and more volumetric tetrahedral elements.The fracture patterns are also influenced by mesh quality and density,e.g.a particle with fewer mesh elements has a simpler fragmentation pattern.This study serves as an essential step towards modelling particle breakage using FDEM with surface mesh directly from SH reconstruction.

A New Kind of Void Soap-free P(MMA-EA-MAA) Latex Particles

Soap-free P(MMA-EA-MAA) particles with narrow size distribution were synthesized by seeded emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), ethyl acrylate (EA) and methacrylic acid (MAA), and large voids inside the particles were generated by alkali posttreatment in the presence of 2-butanone. Results indicated that the size of void and the particle volume were related with the amount of 2-butanone. The generation mechanism of voids was proposed.

The Significant Contribution of Small-Sized and Spherical Aerosol Particles to the Decreasing Trend in Total Aerosol Optical Depth over Land from 2003 to 2018

The optical and microphysical properties of aerosols remain one of the greatest uncertainties associated with evaluating the climate forcing attributed to aerosols.Although the trends in aerosol optical depth(AOD)at global and regional scales have been widely examined,little attention has been paid to the trends in type-dependent AODs related to aerosol particle properties.Here,using the aerosol optical component dataset from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer(MISR)instrument,we investigate decadal-scale trends in total aerosol loading as well as AODs for five aerosol components by particle size and morphology during 2003–2018 over land.Relationships between the total AOD(TAOD)trends and type-dependent AOD changes were examined,and the relative contribution of each type-dependent AOD to the overall TAOD trends was quantified.By dividing the TAOD values into four different aerosol pollution levels(APLs)with splits at 0.15,0.40,and 0.80,we further explored the relationships between TAOD changes and interannual variations in the frequency-of-occurrences(FoOs)of these APLs.Long-term trends in FoOs in the different APLs show that there was a significant improvement in air quality between 2003 and 2018 in most land areas,except South Asia,corresponding to a shift from lightly polluted to clean conditions.However,the effects of different APLs on TAOD changes are regionally dependent and their extent of correlation varied spatially.Moreover,we observed that the annual mean TAOD has decreased by 0.47%.a^(-1)over land since 2003(P<0.05).This significant reduction was mainly attributed to the continued reduction in small-sized(<0.7 mm diameter)AOD(SAOD)(-0.74%.a^(-1))and spherical AOD(SPAOD)(-0.46%.a^(-1)).Statistical analysis shows that SAOD and SPAOD respectively accounted for 57.5%and 89.6%of the TAOD,but contributed 82.6%and 90.4%of the trend in TAOD.Our study suggests that small-sized and spherical aerosols composed of sulfate,organic matter,and black carbon play a dominant role in determining interannual variability in land TAOD.

Effects of Flame Temperature and SiCl_4 Concentration on Particle Characteristics for Synthetic Silica Glass

Effects of flame temperature and SiCl4 concentration on the particle characteristics were studied.The flame temperature distributions were measured using modified sodium line-reversal technology.The particles were collected by quartz supports and were analyzed by scanning electron microscope（SEM） at different locations along the flame centerline.When the SiCl4 concentration is 16 g/min,the particles first grow and then shrink with the flame temperature increasing.When the SiCl4 concentration is 26 g/min,the flame temperature has little influence on the particle characteristics along the flame and many large spherical particles exist all the way.

5-Nitro-1,2,4-triazole-3-one:A Review of Recent Advances

The 3?Nitro?1,2,4?triazole?5?one(NTO)is a high energy density materials of keen interest for both commercial and scientific worlds owing to its reduced sensitivity,better thermal stability and high performances. It plays a significant role to replace the current energetic ingredients. In this review,we summarize various strategies involved in the synthesis of NTO as well as the existing approaches to tailor its particle morphology and sizes. The most prominent properties of NTO,such as insensitivity and performance,which are usually required to produce efficient formulations,have been concisely discussed. In addition,this overview reports on some newer forms of NTO including derivatives and co?crystals available in the literature,which can enhance the NTO features and extend its applications. The advantages and shortcomings of various NTO forms for specific and potential use are also highlighted together with the attempts made to overcome these issues. Therefore,efforts will certainly continue to improve characteristics and performances of NTO either by chemical modification or by co?crystallization in order to produce promising formulations for widespread applications in the near future.

Mechanical behaviors of interaction between coral sand and structure surface

Based on the interface shear tests,the macro-and meso-mechanical behaviors of interaction between coral sand and different structure surfaces are studied,in which CCD camera is used to capture digital images to analyze the evolution of the interaction band and a particle analysis apparatus is applied to studying the distribution characteristics of particle morphology.This study proposes four-stage evolution process based on the shear stress−strain curve.During the shear process,coral sand particles slide and rotate within the interaction band,causing the changes in shear stress and vertical displacement.In addition,the effects of structure surface roughness on shear strength,volume change and particle breakage are illustrated that the greater the roughness of slabs is,the larger the shear stress is,the more obvious the contraction effect is and the more the particles break.Furthermore,the change in particle’s 3D morphology during the breakage will change not only their size but also other morphological characteristics with convergence and self-organization.

Applying Spray Drying to Customized Powder Manufacture

Spray drying is an important continuous industrial process for drying pumpable liquid formulations irrespective of their heat sensitivity, rheology, solids content and processing rate. Furthermore spray drying has the capability through drying chamber design, plant layout and mode of operation to produce dried products of specific particulate size and morphology. These are important aspects when spray drying technology is applied to the needs of customized powder manufacture. There are many examples in industry where spray dried powders have to meet stringent specifications set by such factors as end-product powder quality standards dictated by global competition,dry raw material characteristics required for optimum downstream processing, and dry materials handling to comply with environmental, health and safety issues. Spray drying is no longer regarded just as a convective industrial drying concept, but also as an integral part of modern manufacturing practices applying powder technology. This paper reviews the aspects of spray dryer design and operation for consideration when customized powder manufacture is involved.

Influences of Electrolytes on the Soap-free Emulsion Copolymerization of St-MMA-AA

Monodisperse functional polymer microspheres with different particle size and with clean surface were prepared by batch soap-free emulsion polymerization of styrene, methyl methacrylate and acrylic acid in the presence of salts, and the influences of type and amount of electrolytes on polymerization process and particle morphology were investigated. Results showed that there was a critical concentration for different electrolyte to make polymerization process and the resultant emulsion stable, and the particle size increased with the increase of electrolyte concentration. The effect of metal ions was Ca^2＋〉〉K^＋〉Na^＋〉Li^＋, and the effect of haloids was Br〉Cl〉F. Keywords： Electrolyte, soap-free emulsion polymerization, polystyrene, latex particle morphology.

Capability of discrete element method to investigate the macro-micro mechanical behaviours of granular soils considering different stress conditions and morphological gene mutation

Discrete element method(DEM)has been widely utilised to model the mechanical behaviours of granular materials.However,with simplified particle morphology or rheology-based rolling resistance models,DEM failed to describe some responses,such as the particle kinematics at the grain-scale and the principal stress ratio against axial strain at the macro-scale.This paper adopts a computed tomography(CT)-based DEM technique,including particle morphology data acquisition from micro-CT(mCT),spherical harmonic-based principal component analysis(SH-PCA)-based particle morphology reconstruction and DEM simulations,to investigate the capability of DEM with realistic particle morphology for modelling granular soils’micro-macro mechanical responses with a consideration of the initial packing state,the morphological gene mutation degree,and the confining stress condition.It is found that DEM with realistic particle morphology can reasonably reproduce granular materials’micro-macro mechanical behaviours,including the deviatoric stressevolumetric straineaxial strain response,critical state behaviour,particle kinematics,and shear band evolution.Meanwhile,the role of multiscale particle morphology in granular soils depends on the initial packing state and the confining stress condition.For the same granular soils,rougher particle surfaces with a denser initial packing state and a higher confining stress condition result in a higher degree of shear strain localisation.

Effect of lubricant sulfur on the morphology and elemental composition of diesel exhaust particles

This work investigates the effects of lubricant sulfur contents on the morphology,nanostructure,size distribution and elemental composition of diesel exhaust particle on a light-duty diesel engine. Three kinds of lubricant（LS-oil,MS-oil and HS-oil,all of which have different sulfur contents：0.182%,0.583% and 1.06%,respectively）were used in this study. The morphologies and nanostructures of exhaust particles were analyzed using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy（TEM）. Size distributions of primary particles were determined through advanced image-processing software. Elemental compositions of exhaust particles were obtained through X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy（EDS）. Results show that as lubricant sulfur contents increase,the macroscopic structure of diesel exhaust particles turn from chain-like to a more complex agglomerate. The inner cores of the core-shell structure belonging to these primary particles change little; the shell thickness decreases,and the spacing of carbon layer gradually descends,and amorphous materials that attached onto outer carbon layer of primary particles increase. Size distributions of primary particles present a unimodal and normal distribution,and higher sulfur contents lead to larger size primary particles. The sulfur content in lubricants directly affects the chemical composition in the particles. The content of C（carbon）decreases as sulfur increases in the lubricants,while the contents of O（oxygen）,S（sulfur）and trace elements（including S,Si（silicon）,Fe（ferrum）,P（phosphorus）,Ca（calcium）,Zn（zinc）,Mg（magnesium）,Cl（chlorine）and Ni（nickel））all increase in particles.