This project aims to develop a green conversion route to build a novel concept: tailored wood-based, bi-facial “Janus” particles with superior capacity to stabilize emulsion interfaces. We have existing expertise across the team on wood biomass and emulsion stabilizer research which will support the development of a novel approach for asymmetric Janus nanoparticles from two of the most abundant, but underused biopolymers: lignin and hemicelluloses. To achieve this ambitious goal, it is crucial to carefully characterize the particles and formed interfaces. We are developing a novel method to visualize and characterize real emulsion systems with high precision, which existing methods cannot achieve. We will generate new understanding of interfacial properties of emulsion structures using strategically selected stabilizer particles. This leads to a new concept that promotes the design of superior stabilizers from abundant biopolymers through a sustainable and specific conversion route. My aim is to design particles with an exceptional capacity to stabilize the emulsion interface. PARTIFACE will establish a green route to sophisticated hierarchical architectures—bi-facial Janus-particle-stabilized interfaces— utilizing abundant bioresources. The project will lead to a breakthrough in colloid and interface science and contribute to more sustainable use of Earth’s resources.
Emulsions are elemental to many aspects of every-day life, from food to pharmaceuticals. However, today’s emulsion science faces a grand challenge in developing stabilizers with outstanding functionality in a sustainable manner. To enable society’s transformation from oil-based economy to bioeconomy, there is an urgent need to develop sophisticated biocompatible materials, such as stabilizers of food and non-food emulsions, from biomass-derived precursors through sustainable conversion routes. Current bio-based stabilizers are poorly defined and not as efficient as the synthetic ones, primarily because key technologies to construct sophisticated hierarchical structures from abundant biopolymers are lacking.
The specific objectives are to:
- Predict the interfacial phenomena in emulsions based on measuring the interaction forces and visualizing the morphology of particles at liquid-liquid interfaces. We anticipate that interaction forces between stabilizer particles and dispersed droplets regulate the morphology and further define the stability of emulsions.
- Control the properties of wood-based Janus particles by controlling the share of their counterparts. Establish a method for constructing defined Janus particles from abundant bio-based polymers, lignin and hemicelluloses, for which there are currently no existing technologies. We believe that the natural characteristics of lignin and hemicelluloses make them suitable for building the counterparts of Janus particles.
