CAREER: Engineering colloidal assembly of nanoemulsions for material design

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This CAREER award supports experiments, modeling, and educational activities to explore new ways of synthesizing materials based on templating. The goal is to control interactions among droplets in a nanoemulsion so that the droplets assemble into arrangements that can be used as a template to form new materials. The forces between droplets will be modulated by adding polymers to the nanoemulsion, which will provide control over the phase behavior of the nanoemulsion and the resulting structures formed by the nanodroplets. As a first step, a model system will be examined consisting of oil-in-water nanoemulsions containing end-adsorbing polymers that bridge droplets in ways that can be controlled by temperature. A variety of experimental techniques, including microrheology, isothermal titration calorimetry, and neutron scattering methods, will be used to characterize nanoemulsion structures and transitions induced by the temperature-sensitive polymers. Modeling studies will be carried out to estimate how interactions between droplets are modified by the presence of the polymers. In addition, new microscopy techniques will be applied to probe structural dynamics of the nanoemulsion aggregates. Scientists and engineers continually seek new ways to form materials with highly controlled physical and chemical properties. The development of nanoemulsion-based templates for materials synthesis will extend the range of materials that can be formed by templating. For example, the results of this project will provide researchers a new method to develop porous materials with highly controlled internal structures. Various synthetic chemistries will be incorporated into the nanoemulsion formation process, resulting in materials that could be useful in catalysis, pharmaceuticals, foods, and other consumer products. The award will also support the development of a new course and textbook on formulation science and engineering, which will broaden the curriculum for undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, a workshop will demonstrate to middle-school students how colloidal science is used in the development of familiar consumer products. Students from under-represented groups will be recruited to the project through established programs on the UCSB campus.