Designing bijels formed by solvent transfer induced phase separation with functional nanoparticles

Boakye‐Ansah, Stephen; Schwenger, Matthew; Haase, Martin F.

doi:10.1039/c9sm00289h

Cited by 28 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Bijels conventionally have had channels which are approximately uniform in size across the sample [24], although Haase et al have produced narrow bijel fibres with a gradient in channel size due to solvent transfer-induced phase separation [25,26]. In this paper we present the results of experiments that produce bijels, through temperature-induced phase separation, with a designed gradient in channel size, which may be useful for optimising bijel-templated electrodes to provide both high power and energy densities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bicontinuous soft solids with a gradient in channel size designed for energy storage applications

French,

Schofield,

Thijssen

2021

Preprint

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We present examples of bicontinuous interfacially jammed emulsion gels ("bijels") with a designed gradient in the channel size along the sample. These samples are created by quenching binary fluids which have a gradient in particle concentration along the sample, since the channel size is determined by the local particle concentration. A gradient in local particle concentration is achieved using a two-stage loading process, with different particle volume fractions in each stage. Confocal microscopy and image analysis were used to quantitatively measure the channel size of the bijels. Bijels with a gradient in channel size of up to 2.8%/mm have been created. Such tailored soft materials could act as templates for energy materials optimised for both high ionic transport rates (high power) and high interfacial area (high energy density), potentially making them useful in novel energy applications.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bicontinuous soft solids with a gradient in channel size designed for energy storage applications

French,

Schofield,

Thijssen

2021

Preprint

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“…We demonstrate hydrodynamic twisting for the bundling of fibers made of bicontinuous interfacially jammed emulsion gels (bijels) [ 15–17 ] formed by Solvent Transfer Induced Phase Separation (STrIPS). [ 18,19 ] Bijels are a class of materials with potential applications as catalytic microreactors, [ 20–22 ] energy storage materials, [ 23,24 ] separation membranes, [ 25 ] tissue engineering scaffolds, [ 26 ] and food products. [ 27 ] However, their low mechanical strength currently limits their wide application potentials.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High‐Tensile Strength, Composite Bijels through Microfluidic Twisting

Kharal

Hesketh

Haase

2020

Adv Funct Materials

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Rope making is a millennia old technique to collectively assemble numerous weak filaments into flexible and high tensile strength bundles. However, delicate soft matter fibers lack the robustness to be twisted into bundles by means of mechanical rope making tools. Here, weak microfibers with tensile strengths of a few kilopascals are combined into ropes via microfluidic twisting. This is demonstrated for recently introduced fibers made of bicontinuous interfacially jammed emulsion gels (bijels). Bijels show promising applications in use as membranes, microreactors, energy and healthcare materials, but their low tensile strength make reinforcement strategies imperative. Hydrodynamic twisting allows to produce continuous bijel fiber bundles of controllable architecture. Modelling the fluid flow field reveals the bundle geometry dependence on a subtle force balance composed of rotational and translational shear stresses. Moreover, combining multiple bijel fibers of different compositions enables the introduction of polymeric support fibers to raise the tensile strength to tens of megapascals, while simultaneously preserving the liquid like properties of the bijel fibers for transport applications. Hydrodynamic twisting shows potentials to enable the combination of a wide range of materials resulting in composites with features greater than the sum of their parts.

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“…Solvent transfer induced phase separation (STrIPS) enables both the use of nanoparticle stabilizers, as well as a continuous and scalable production route for bijels. [17,18] Prior to this work, STrIPS has only formed irregular bijels with sub-micrometer pores on the surface and micron-scaled, internal domains. [18,19] The high surface area achieved with sub-micrometer domains makes bijels ideal candidates to become mass transfer devices, where molecular exchange between the two liquids can take place through the interstitial spaces between the nanoparticles.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[17,18] Prior to this work, STrIPS has only formed irregular bijels with sub-micrometer pores on the surface and micron-scaled, internal domains. [18,19] The high surface area achieved with sub-micrometer domains makes bijels ideal candidates to become mass transfer devices, where molecular exchange between the two liquids can take place through the interstitial spaces between the nanoparticles. Nevertheless, mass transfer in the bijel over hundreds of micrometers is limited by diffusion.…”

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confidence: 99%

Nanostructured, Fluid‐Bicontinuous Gels for Continuous‐Flow Liquid–Liquid Extraction

et al. 2022

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The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202109547. Fluid-bicontinuous gels are unique materials that allow two distinct fluids to interact through a percolating, rigid scaffold. Current restrictions for their use are the large fluid-channel sizes (>5 µm), limiting the fluid-fluid interaction surface-area, and the inability to flow liquids through the channels. In this work a scalable synthesis route of nanoparticle stabilized fluid-bicontinuous gels with channels sizes below 500 nm and specific surface areas of 2 m 2 cm −3 is introduced. Moreover, it is demonstrated that liquids can be pumped through the fluid-bicontinuous gels via electroosmosis. The fast liquid flow in the fluid-bicontinuous gel facilitates their use for molecular separations in continuous-flow liquid-liquid extraction. Together with the high surface areas, liquid flow through fluid-bicontinuous gels enhances their potential as highly permeable porous materials with possible uses as microreaction media, fuel-cell components, and separation membranes.

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Designing bijels formed by solvent transfer induced phase separation with functional nanoparticles

Abstract: Functionalized silica nanoparticles with or without in situ surface modification are used to fabricate bijels via solvent transfer induced phase separation (STrIPS).

Cited by 28 publications

References 41 publications

Bicontinuous soft solids with a gradient in channel size designed for energy storage applications

Bicontinuous soft solids with a gradient in channel size designed for energy storage applications

High‐Tensile Strength, Composite Bijels through Microfluidic Twisting

Nanostructured, Fluid‐Bicontinuous Gels for Continuous‐Flow Liquid–Liquid Extraction

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