Abstract
The types of emulsions, oil (n-dodecane) in water (O/W) or water in oil (W/O), stabilized with highly hydrophobically grafted linear poly(sodium acrylate)s, were investigated as a function of polymer chemical architecture. Consequently, a large number of macroemulsifiers, covering a wide range of hydrophobicity, were synthesized by changing the degree of grafting (τ), length (n) and type (single- versus twin-tailed) of the hydrophobic moiety. Monovalent salt (NaNO3) concentration was used as a probe to adjust and hence to estimate the hydrophile-lipophile balance (HLB) of each copolymer. τ, n, type of graft and electrolyte concentration were identified as field parameters to control emulsion type. In general, decreasing either τ or n was found to favor the formation of direct emulsions. Inverse dispersions were preferentially formed with twin-tailed rather than single-tailed copolymers. Moreover, the types of emulsions stabilized with well-balanced polyelectrolytes can be flipped from O/W to W/O with increasing salt concentration. Finally, following the Davies concept, a HLB scale for polymers was created from a comparison with surfactants of nearly identical chemical structure.
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Received: 15 June 1998 Accepted: 12 August 1998
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Perrin, P., Monfreux, N. & Lafuma, F. Highly hydrophobically modified polyelectrolytes stabilizing macroemulsions: relationship between copolymer structure and emulsion type. Colloid Polym Sci 277, 89–94 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/s003960050372
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s003960050372