In contrast, the (110) surface is hydrophobic, and the surface energy would be much lower than that of the ( 1 1 ¯ 0 ) surface. The hydroxyl groups of cellulose are equatorially placed on its glucopyranose rings, corresponding to the crystal plane ( 1 1 ¯ 0 ) and a high hydrophilicity shall be expected for this surface. It is synthesized by the cellulose synthase complex and exists abundantly in plant cell walls. For instance, the inversion of NC-stabilized Pickering emulsions from oil-in-water to water-in-oil droplets with the increasing oily phase (oil content) in water continuous phase remains unclear.Ĭellulose is a linear chain homopolymer that consists of (1→4)-β- d-glucose monomers. Albeit of the active community to improve the role of NC in the emulsion preparation, the effect of increasing the oily disperse phase or NC on phase invert activities is rarely investigated. In addition, NC can be rendered with hydrophobic behaviors to bend the oil-water interface towards the water phase for the formation of reverse Pickering emulsions (or so-called water-in-oil Pickering emulsions). Through chemical modifications or grafting techniques with fatty acids, the surface wettability of NC in organic solvents can be modified, thereby enhancing the emulsion stability. Nanocellulose (NC) extracted from renewable resources has opened new opportunities for future Pickering emulsion development owing to its intrinsic biodegradability and renewability. In addition, a Pickering emulsion could be more biocompatible if the substituting solid particles are generally regarded as safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is stabilized by the irreversible adsorption of solid particles on the oil-water interface, forming a dense layer of coating to prevent the aggregation of droplets. The Pickering stabilization mechanism is fundamentally different from conventional emulsions. Particle-stabilized emulsions, or commonly referred to as Pickering emulsions, have recently emerged to be an alternative due to their better stability against coalescence and flocculation. The coupling of food-grade surfactants (e.g., protein and amphiphilic polysaccharide biopolymers) to contain food items and oils (e.g., omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil) has enabled mankind to access numerous health benefits. The outcome of this work would be helpful to provide an important perspective for the future design and development of nanocellulose-based emulsion products, which cater for food, cosmeceutical, and pharmaceutical industries.įood emulsions are common techniques employed in the food and beverages industry for more than 50 years. It was also observed that the high bead order was always coupled with a high volume of phase separation activities, through a coarse-grained model within 20,000 time steps. This work has successfully quantified the Pickering stabilization mechanism profiles by nanocellulose, and the phenomenon could be visualized in three stages, namely the initial homogenous phase, rapid formation of micelles and coalescence, and lastly the thermodynamic equilibrium of the system. To realize its potential, nanocellulose, an amphiphilic biopolymer with the presence of rich -OH and -CH structural groups, was investigated via molecular dynamics simulation to reveal its full potential as Pickering emulsion stabilizer at the molecular level. The development cost of new materials can be significantly reduced by utilizing molecular simulation technology in the design of nanostructured materials. However, research on the design and operation of integrated nanomaterials, along with energy supply, monitoring, and control infrastructure, has seriously lagged. As the complexity of the system evolved, the timescale of project development has increased exponentially. It is crucial for more sustainable valorization of resources, for instance, nanocellulose, to address the core challenges in environmental sustainability. While the economy is rapidly expanding in most emerging countries, issues coupled with a higher population has created foreseeable tension among food, water, and energy.
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