Unique Dual Functions for Carbon Dots in Emulsion Preparations

Aug 19, 2015 - Recently, carbon dots (CDs) have drawn much attention as evidenced by their incorporation into many branches of science and engineering...
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Unique Dual Functions for Carbon Dots in Emulsion Preparations: Co-Stabilization and Fluorescence Probing Hua Tan, Wenxia Liu, Bei Gong, Wei Zhang, Haidong Li, Yu Dehai, Huili Wang, Guodong Li, and Lucian A Lucia Langmuir, Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b02755 • Publication Date (Web): 19 Aug 2015 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on August 24, 2015

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Unique Dual Functions for Carbon Dots in Emulsion

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Preparations: Co-Stabilization and Fluorescence Probing

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Hua Tan a, Wenxia Liu a,b*, Bei Gong a, Wei Zhang a, Haidong Li a, Dehai Yu a, Huili Wang a, Guodong Li a, Lucian A. Lucia a,c* a

Key Laboratory of Pulp&Paper Science and Technology (Ministry of Education), Qilu University of Technology, Jinan, Shandong 250353, China

b

Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan, Shandong 250353, China

c

North Carolina State University, Departments of Chemistry, Forest Biomaterials, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, U.S.A. Correspondence to: W. Liu (E-mail: [email protected]); L.A. Lucia ([email protected])

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Recently, carbon dots (CDs) have drawn much attention as evidenced by their incorporation in

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many branches of science and engineering. Herein, a further unique application is elucidated:

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CDs that are synthesized by hydrothermal treatment of gelatin for a dual functionality as

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expressed in co-stabilization of particle-based emulsions and their concomitant role as

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fluorescent probes. CDs either with or without gelatin matrixes induce aggregation of Laponite

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particles. The introduction of CDs thus enhanced the stability of Laponite-stabilized emulsions

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and promoted the formation of multiple emulsions and emulsions with fine and uniform droplets

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when the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio was less than 45% and exceeded 60%, respectively.

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However, CDs without gelatin matrixes show slightly higher efficiency than CDs within gelatin

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matrixes for the co-stabilization of emulsions. CDs also co-stabilized emulsions with Laponite to

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allow the distribution of Laponite particles to be traced and the emulsion profiled under UV.

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Keywords: Carbon dots; emulsion; photoluminescence; surface activity; Laponite; stability

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1. INTRODUCTION

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Carbon dots (CDs) or carbon quantum dots are a class of carbon-based nanoparticles with

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dimensions less than 10 nm.1,2 Fundamentally, they are sp2-hybridized graphite nanocrystals.

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CDs composed of a few atomic layers are nominally graphene quantum dots,1 while those made

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from polymers (including proteins) are polymer dots.2 Because of diverse fabrication and

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functionalization/modification methods, CDs may also contain oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and

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various functional groups or alkyl ligands.3 As a class of novel fluorescent materials, CDs feature

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many advantages over conventional semiconductor quantum dots such as high water solubility,

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excellent biocompatibility, cell membrane permeability, good photo-stability, low cost,

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abundance, uniform particle size, easy modification/functionalization, and high robust

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near-infrared to near-UV luminescence.1,2,4-6 These features have aroused intense interest within

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various branches of science,7 especially in work related to bioimaging, biosensors,

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biomolecule/drug

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catalysis/electrocatalysis/photocatalysis,6,13,14 detection of substances,15 fabrication of solar cells

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and supercapacitors,16,17 electron donors and acceptors or sunlight collectors, and light-emitting

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device luminescent materials.18

delivery

fluorescent

materials,7-12

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By reducing chloroauric acid with reduced state carbon dots (r-CDs), gold nanoparticles can be

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formed, in which the r-CDs act as a reductant for Au(III) and capping agent/stabilizer to prevent

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nanoparticles from aggregation.19 However, the application of CDs as a fluorescent

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stabilizer/co-stabilizer for emulsions has not been reported to date. 2 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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An emulsion is a stable mixture of two liquids that are normally immiscible (e.g., water and oil),

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generally stabilized by surfactants and polymers and found in many industries such as

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papermaking, food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. Currently, many efforts focus on stabilizing

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emulsions using fine particles as an alternative to conventional surfactants because particles can

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avoid the adverse effects of surfactants (such as foaming by air entrapment and potential

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environmental and human health side-effects) while also providing emulsions with high

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coalescence stability and a high discontinuous phase content.20-22 Particle-stabilized emulsions

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are known as Pickering emulsions that are characterized as particle-stabilized emulsions.

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Particle localization at the oil-water interface forms a mechanical barrier around the emulsion

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droplets and prevents coalescence; therefore, the particles must be wetted by both water and oil.

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CDs are expected to perform well in this latter regard because they are at their core carbonaceous

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nanoparticles that possess hydrophilic functional groups.

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Laponite is a synthetic hectorite with disk-shaped crystals that has been extensively used as an

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emulsion particle stabilizer after modification with surfactants23 or small surfactant-like

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molecules24-29 such as tetramethylammonium chloride,24 melamine,25 short-chain aliphatic

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amines,25,29 alanine,27 and urea.28 However, surfactants may pose potential biological threats and

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foaming problems,30 while small surfactant-like molecules can only minimally reduce the

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hydrophilicity of Laponite. With respect to physical interrogation, both surfactants and small

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surfactant-like

molecules

demonstrate

no

fluorescence

and

thus,

the

imaging

of 3

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Laponite-stabilized emulsions must be done with fluorescence dyes.

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In this study, we report CDs prepared by hydrothermal carbonization of gelatin for a first time

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use as a fluorescent modifier to adjust the wettability of Laponite particles and as a fluorescent

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particle stabilizer to co-stabilize emulsions with Laponite. The oil is liquid paraffin that has been

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extensively employed in commercial emulsion studies such as papermaking, cosmetics,

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petrochemicals, and oil refining.

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Gelatin was selected as the precursor to prepare CDs due to its abundant amino and carboxyl

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groups. It is a water-soluble polymer composed of peptides and proteins produced by partial

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hydrolysis of collagen from animal skin and bones. It has long been used in food,

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pharmaceuticals, and cosmetic manufacturing; moreover, the carboxyl and amino groups tend to

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condense, dehydrate, and form cross-linked and carbonized structures upon heating without the

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assistance of any chemicals in pure water, whereas the polymer chains, which stretch from the

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cross-linked and carbonized center, can passivate and stabilize the carbonized center. Thus, the

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CDs were prepared using a one-pot hydrothermal method at relatively low temperatures.2,31

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Meanwhile, the use of low temperature was beneficial to obtain both well-passivated and

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functionalized CDs. The properties of the carbon dots and their effect on a Laponite aqueous

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dispersion and paraffin/water emulsions have been the subject of investigation in the current

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study. The as-prepared CDs either with or without gelatin matrixes possessed carboxyl and

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amino groups that were able to interact with Laponite leading to the reduction of negative ζ 4 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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(zeta) potential and inducing the aggregation of Laponite particles, whereas the fluorescence of

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CDs was not significantly reduced by interaction with Laponite. Consequently, CDs

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fluorescently mark Laponite particles and improve the stability of Laponite stabilized emulsions.

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Because of their excellent biocompatibility, low cost, and easy preparation, CDs co-stabilize

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emulsions made with nanoparticles and thus may find applications in numerous fields.

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2. EXPERIMENTAL SECTION

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Materials. Gelatin was purchased from Tianda Chemical Reagents Factory (Dongli district,

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Tianjin, China), and used without further purification. Liquid paraffin with a purity greater than

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99% (d204=0.835–0.855) was provided by Damao Chemical Reagent Company (Tianjin, China).

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Laponite was a product of Rockwood Additives Ltd. (UK) supplied as a white powder named

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Laponite RD. The white powder was composed of disk-shaped crystals with a thickness of ~ 1

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nm and a diameter of 25-30 nm. Deionized water, which was prepared by ion exchange, was

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used for chemical dissolution and particle dispersion.

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Preparation and characterization of fluorescent CDs. CDs were synthesized by dissolution of

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gelatin in warm water followed by hydrothermal treatment at 200 °C for 3 h according to Liang

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et al.31 The complete dissolution of gelatin required pre-swelling of gelatin at room temperature

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for 72 h. The detailed process and characterization of fluorescent CDs may be found in the

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accompanying Supporting Information section. The CDs prepared by gelatin without and with

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pre-swelling are respectively labeled as CDs-1 and CDs-2. 5 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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Effects of CDs on properties of Laponite aqueous dispersion. A Laponite aqueous dispersion

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was prepared by dispersing Laponite in deionized water until it swelled completely.28,32,33 A CD

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aqueous dispersion was directly added to Laponite aqueous dispersion at a pre-determined mass

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ratio of CDs to Laponite under agitation. A fluorospectrophotometer (HITACHI F-4500, Hitachi

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Co., Japan) probed its fluorescence properties. The interaction of CDs with Laponite was

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detected by IR spectroscopy and XRD after being dried at 100 °C. The surface and interface

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tension between paraffin and the aqueous dispersion of CD-Laponite were detected with a Krüss

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K100MK2 tensiometer (KRÜSS GmbH, Germany) at 25 °C.

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Preparation and characterization of emulsions co-stabilized by Laponite and CDs.

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Emulsions were prepared at 25 °C by adding paraffin oil into the CDs-Laponite aqueous

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dispersion, and homogenizing the mixture using a FM200 high shear emulsifier (FLUKO

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Equipment Shanghai Co., Ltd.) with a 1.0 cm head at 6000 rpm for 3 min. The as-prepared

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emulsions were then transferred into glass vessels for observation of emulsion stability. The

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stabilities of the emulsions relative to creaming and coalescence were assessed by monitoring the

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release of water and oil, respectively after the emulsions were prepared for 24 h.34-36 The

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emulsion stabilities were then evaluated by the emulsion volume fraction, which is defined as the

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ratio of emulsion volume to the total volume of emulsified system.26 To observe the morphology

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and distribution of CDs on emulsion droplet surfaces, the emulsions were imaged by both a laser

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confocal microscope (FV300-LX71, Olympus Corporation, Japan) and a Rise-3002 optical 6 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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biomicroscope (Jinan Runzhi Science and Technology Co., Ltd.).

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3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

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Characterization and optical properties of as-prepared CDs. TEM images (Figure S1a and b,

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Supporting Information) show that the as-prepared CDs-1 possess a nearly spherical shape and

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space irregularly, but rather densely, within gelatin matrixes, which originate from unreacted

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gelatin precursors and are much larger than the CDs. However, the as-prepared CDs-2 does not

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contain any gelatin matrixes due to full pre-swelling before dissolution and hydrothermal

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treatment (Figure S1c, Supporting Information). The CDs, including both CDs-1 and CDs-2, are

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almost mono-dispersed with sizes ranging from 5 nm to 10 nm. The HR-TEM image of a single

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CD from CDs-1 (inset of Figure S1b, Supporting Information) and CDs-2 (Figure S1d,

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Supporting Information) indicates that the two CDs have the same ordered lattices.

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The XRD patterns (Figure S2a and S2b, Supporting Information) further reveals that the

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interlayer spacing of (002) plane of the CDs-1 and CDs-2 are 0.42 nm and 0.43 nm both of

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which are larger than that of graphite (0.34 nm)31,37 and the average molecular distance of gelatin

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supporting the existence of abundant functional groups during the formation of carbon dots.31

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The larger (002) spacing (d(002)) for CDs-2 is probably ascribed to the removal of gelatin

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matrixes.

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By comparing the FT-IR spectra of CDs-1 and CDs-2 with that of gelatin and analysis for the

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absorption bands of CDs and gelatin (Figure S2c and S2d, Supporting Information), it was found

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that alkyl and aryl groups as well as cumulated alkenes are formed in the as-synthesized CDs.

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However, amino-containing functional groups and carboxylic acid functional groups can still be

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found on both the CDs-1 and CDs-2, revealing the amphoteric characteristics of CDs inherited

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from gelatin.31 Analysis of XPS spectra (Figure S3, Table S1 and Table S2, Supporting

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Information) further confirm the inclusion of carbonization/condensation in the preparation of

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the CDs originating from the functional groups of C-O and O=C-NH that then form C-C, and

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N-O in addition to the presence of amino and carboxyl groups.

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The UV-Vis absorption spectra of pristine gelatin and the CDs-1 (Figure S4a, Supporting

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Information) also indicate that carbonization/condensation reactions among the functional groups

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of gelatin lead to the formation of a C=C bond. The as-prepared CDs-1 emit a blue-purple glow

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(inset in Figure S4a, Supporting Information) under UV light having a peak wavelength of 365

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nm in aqueous medium and is representative of the general optical properties of CDs, such as the

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variations of their emission peak in both intensity and emission wavelength with an increase in

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excitation wavelength31,38-40 and concentration

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The maximum excitation and emission wavelengths of the synthetized CDs-1 are at 365 nm and

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416 nm, respectively (Figure S4c, Supporting Information), while the maximum fluorescence

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intensity of the CDs occurs at a concentration of 11.7 g/L (Figure 4d, Supporting Information).

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(Figure S4b and 4d, Supporting Information).

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Interaction of CDs with Laponite and effect of CDs on interfacial tension between liquid

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paraffin and water. Laponite is a magnesium silicate crystal with negatively charged crystal

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faces due to the isomorphic substitutions of Mg2+ with Li+. It swells in water and forms a clear

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and colorless colloidal dispersion. The as-synthesized CDs carry both positive and negative

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charges after their amino and carboxyl groups are ionized in aqueous medium while their net

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surface charge is negative as judged by their negativeζpotential (Figure S5, Supporting

180

Information) due to the weak alkaline pH of the CD aqueous dispersion (~ pH 8). Therefore, they

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are expected to interact modestly with the Laponite in aqueous medium. Figure 1 shows the IR

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spectra and XRD patterns of CDs-1-Laponite and CDs-2-Laponite with various CDs-to-Laponite

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mass ratios. As shown in Figure 1a and c, the IR spectrum of pristine Laponite possesses

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absorption peaks at 1004 cm-1 and 663 cm-1 that can be attributed to the stretching vibration of

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Si-O and Mg (Li)-O (OH) groups, respectively. The absorption peaks at 3600-3100 cm-1 (3445

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cm-1) and 1630 cm-1 are correlated to the O-H groups from hydrogen-bonded silanol groups and

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hydration water, whereas the shoulder band at 3687cm-1 can be assigned to the stretching

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vibration of Mg-OH.24,25,27,28 In the IR spectra of CDs-1-Laponite and CDs-2-Laponite with

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different CDs-to-Laponite mass ratios, in addition to the absorption bands that belong to

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Laponite and CDs, a new absorption band at 3712 cm-1 appears which may originate from the

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stretching vibration of vaporized water.42 Meanwhile, the shoulder band at 3687 cm-1, which

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originates from the Mg-OH stretching vibration of Laponite, is more separated from the other

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absorption bands of O-H stretching vibrations with an increase in the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio

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due to the red shift of the latter. In addition, the absorption band correlated to the other O-H 9 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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stretching vibrations becomes stronger. This indicates that the CDs adsorb on the Laponite

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particles and replace the adsorbed water for hydrogen bonding with silanol groups because the

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absorption band of O-H stretching vibration of the CDs appears at 3293 cm-1 (Figure S2,

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Supporting Information), which does not overlap as much with the stretching vibration of

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Mg-OH versus that of adsorbed water. Since the functional groups of CDs inherited from gelatin,

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the IR spectra of CDs-1-Laponite and CDs-2-Laponite are quite similar.

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Figure 1. Infrared spectra and XRD patterns of (a, b) CDs-1-Laponite and (c, d) CDs-2-Laponite

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at different CDs-to-Laponite mass ratios. The “CDs/Laponite” in the figures represents the

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CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio.

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As shown in Figure 1b, a very broad diffraction band centered at 2θ= 6.96° appears in the XRD

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pattern of pristine Laponite that originates from the diffraction of (001) plane, corresponding to a

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interlayer distance (d(001)) of 12.69 Å. After the introduction and increase in the CDs-to-Laponite

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mass ratio, the diffraction bands of both CDs-1-Laponite and CDs-2-Lapontie shift towards

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smaller angles, and the intensity of the diffraction bands become stronger, which means that both

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the d(001) (also shown in Table S3 and S4, Supporting Information) and particle size of the two

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CDs-Laponite are increased by CDs. This indicates that the two CDs are able to interact with

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Laponite either by hydrogen bonding or by dipole-dipole interactions. However, the equilibrium

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d(001) of CDs-1-Laponite and CDs-2-Laponite are only 1.45 nm and 1.47 nm, respectively,

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suggesting that the adsorbed CDs on Laponite surfaces occur as individual platelets. The larger

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d(001) of CDs-2-Laponite than that of CDs-1-Laponite is attributed to the larger thickness of

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CDs-2, which can be judged by the larger d(002) of CDs-2, than that of CDs-1 platelets.

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Figure 2 shows the effect of the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio on the conductivity, viscosity, pH,

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and turbidity of CDs-1-Laponite and CDs-2-Laponite aqueous dispersions as well as the ζ

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potential of Laponite. The insets show the appearances of CDs-Laponite aqueous dispersions

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with various CDs-to-Laponite mass ratios. It can be found from the Figure 2a and c that the

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conductivity of the two CDs-Laponite aqueous dispersions are linearly increased by increasing

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the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio, implying that both the CDs-1 and the CDs-2 are

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electroconductive from the ionization of their functional groups. The interaction of CDs-1 and

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CDs-2 with Laponite particles increases the apparent viscosity of the Laponite aqueous 11 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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dispersion because the interaction induces aggregation of Laponite particles as shown in the

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insets in Figure 2b and 2d. The CDs-1-Laponite dispersion and CDs-2-Laponite aqueous

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dispersion have very similar apparent viscosities and reach their maximum apparent viscosities at

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60% of CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio, suggesting that the interaction of CDs-2 with Laponite

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particles is very similar to that of CDs-1 because the functional groups of the CDs are both

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inherited from gelatin. The slight difference is that CDs-2-Laponite aqueous dispersion displays

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a slightly lower viscosity due to its smaller apparent particle size from the absence of gelatin.

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When the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio is higher than 60%, the apparent viscosities of the two

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CDs-Laponite aqueous dispersions decrease probably due to the dehydration of Laponite

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particles.

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Figure 2. Variation of (a, c) conductivity and apparent viscosity; (b, d) pH and turbidity of

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CDs-1-Laponite (a, b) and CDs-2-Laponite (c, d) aqueous dispersion as well as (b, d) ζ 12 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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potential of Laponite with CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio. The insets in band d are the photographs

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of CDs-1-Laponite and CDs-2-Laponite aqueous dispersions with CDs-to-Laponite mass ratios

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of 0, 15%, 30%, 45%, 60%, 75%, 90%, and 150%, respectively, from left to right. The

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concentration of Laponite is fixed at 5 g/L.

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Pristine Laponite has a negativeζpotential of more than 50 mV in an 5 g/L aqueous dispersion,

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while its aqueous dispersion has a pH of about 9.8-10, a turbidity of less than 10 NTU. The

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introduction of either CDs-1 or CDs-2 significantly reduce the negativeζpotential of the

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Laponite when the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio is lower than 30% (Figure 2b), thus providing

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direct evidence for the interaction of CDs with Laponite. After the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio

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exceeds 30%, the reduction of the negativeζpotential becomes much lower because the CDs

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carry net negative charges (Figure S5, Supporting Information). With the addition of CDs and

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increase in CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio, the clear Laponite dispersion becomes cloudy due to

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aggregation of Laponite particles induced by the interaction of CDs with Laponite particles,

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whereas the turbidity increases exponentially when the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio is less than

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75%. At a CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio of 75%, the turbidities of CDs-1-Laponite and

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CDs-2-Laponite aqueous dispersions are as high as 128.4 and 118.0 NTU, respectively, and do

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not change significantly with an increase in the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio. The slightly lower

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turbidity of CDs-2-Laponite aqueous dispersion is ascribed to the absence of larger gelatin

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matrixes. The pH of CDs-Laponite aqueous dispersion is continuously decreased suggesting that

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the interaction of CDs with Laponite can prevent release of hydroxide anions from Laponite 13 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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particles. When the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio reaches 150%, the pH of CDs-1-Laponite and

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CDs-2-Laponite aqueous dispersions dropped to ~ 8, very close to pH (~ pH 8.0) of CDs-1 and

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CDs-2 aqueous dispersions.

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A decrease in interfacial tension plays an important role in emulsion preparation when using low

267

molar mass surfactants and surface-active polymers as stabilizers. Even for particle stabilizers, a

268

variation of interfacial tension may affect the emulsion stability and morphology.24,25,27,28

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Therefore, the effect of CDs on water surface tension and interfacial tension between paraffin

270

liquid and water was investigated. The results are shown in Figure 3.

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Figure 3. Effects of CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio on (a) surface tension of CDs-1-Laponite

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aqueous dispersion and interfacial tension between liquid paraffin and CDs-1-Laponite aqueous

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dispersion, (b) surface tension of CDs-2-Laponite aqueous dispersion and interfacial tension

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between liquid paraffin and CDs-2-Laponite aqueous dispersion. The Laponite concentration in

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the aqueous dispersion is 10 g/L. The surface tension of CDs-1/CDs-2 aqueous dispersion and

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the interfacial tension between liquid paraffin and CDs-1/ CDs-2 aqueous solution versus

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CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio at the same CD concentration were also plotted for the purposes of 14 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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comparison.

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As shown in Figure 3a, both the water surface tension and the paraffin-water interfacial tension

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are significantly reduced by the introduction of the CDs-1, further substantiating the

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surface-active properties of the as-synthesized CDs. The surface activity of the CDs is ascribed

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to the occurrence of gelatin matrixes because gelatin is surface active (Figure S6, Supporting

285

Information). However, the surface activity persists after the gelatin matrixes is removed by

286

pre-swelling during the preparation of CDs (Figure 3b). Furthermore, by comparing Figure 3a,

287

3b and Figure S6, it can be found that the CDs-2 show slightly higher surface activity than

288

CDs-1, while the CDs-1 shows slightly higher surface activity than gelatin. This suggests that the

289

surface activity of the CDs, especially the CDs-2 may also be attributed to carbonization and the

290

introduction of hydrophilic functional groups. When Laponite is in the aqueous dispersion, the

291

CDs lose their surface activity. Both the surface tension of CDs-Laponite aqueous dispersion and

292

the interfacial tension between paraffin and CDs-Laponite aqueous dispersion hardly change by

293

introduction of CDs and the increase of CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio. This is similar to the

294

behavior of gelatin (Figure S6, Supporting Information) and low concentration Span® 80 at the

295

paraffin-water interface when silica is present,43 indicating strong interactions between CDs and

296

Laponite particles. As a consequence, most of the CDs adsorb onto Laponite particles, while the

297

free CDs, if there are any, are insufficient to lower the water surface tension and paraffin-water

298

interfacial tension.

299

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300

Preparation of emulsions stabilized by CDs-Laponite. Although the as-prepared CDs,

301

including those with and without gelatin matrixes, are surface active and their precursor gelatin

302

can act as a stabilizer for paraffin-in-water emulsion (Figure S7a, Supporting Information), they

303

cannot provide adequate stability for emulsions when used as the lone stabilizer (Figure S7b and

304

c, Supporting Information). Both oil and water are quickly released after emulsification even

305

when the concentration of CDs is as high as 11.7 g/L, and there is hardly an emulsion phase after

306

the emulsion has been prepared for 24 h. This is likely because their surface activity is lower

307

than needed or their particles are too small to form a competent interfacial film around the

308

emulsion droplets because the stabilization energy of a particle stabilized emulsion is directly

309

proportional to the square of particle size.20 However, by the introduction of Laponite particles,

310

the emulsion becomes stable to coalescence, i.e., no oil is released when the Laponite

311

concentration is higher than 5 g/L. Therefore, emulsions co-stabilized by CDs and Laponite of

312

different CDs-to-Laponite mass ratios can be prepared by homogenizing a mixture of equal

313

volumes of paraffin oil and CDs-Laponite aqueous dispersion at a fixed Laponite concentration

314

of 5 g/L.

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315 316

Figure 4. Emulsion volume fraction of emulsions co-stabilized by Laponite with (a) CDs-1, (b)

317

CDs-2 as a function of CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio after being prepared for 24 h; (c) appearance

318

of gelatin stabilized emulsions after being prepared for 0 h and 24 h; average droplet size of

319

as-prepared emulsions co-stabilized by Laponite with (d) CDs-1, (e) CDs-2 and (f) gelatin as a

320

function of CDs/gelatin-to-Laponite mass ratio. The inset in (a, b) shows the appearance of

321

corresponding emulsions co-stabilized by CDs and Laponite. The insets in (d, e, f) are the optical

322

microscope images of as-prepared emulsions, in which the scale bar is 50 µm. The

323

CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio are 0, 15%, 30%, 45%, 60%, 75%, 90% and 150% in sequence. The

324

concentration of Laponite is fixed at 5 g/L. The paraffin to water volume ratio is 1:1 in all cases.

325 326

Figure 4a and b shows the stability of emulsions stabilized by Laponite together with CDs-1 and

327

CDs-2, respectively. The emulsion stability is characterized by emulsion volume fraction after

328

the emulsion has been prepared for 24 h. The insets in Figure 4a and b are the appearance of the 17 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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329

corresponding emulsions with CDs-to-Laponite mass ratios from 0 to 150%. It can be seen that

330

all the emulsions are milky-white that do not evidence release of oil (insets), and are identified as

331

oil-in-water species by conductivity measurements (Figure S8, Supporting Information).

332

However, there is water released when the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio is less than 30% for an

333

emulsion stabilized by Laponite and CDs-1. When the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio reaches and

334

exceeds 30%, all the emulsions, including those stabilized by Laponite with CDs-2, have an

335

emulsion volume fraction of 100%, suggesting that the two CDs can improve the creaming

336

stability of Laponite-stabilized emulsions as a co-stabilizer due to their interaction with Laponite

337

particles. The interaction of CDs with Laponite induces the aggregation of Laponite particles

338

(Insets in Figure 2b and d), and improves the oil-wettability of Laponite (Figure S10, Supporting

339

Information), both phenomena which favor adsorption of Laponite particles at oil-water interface.

340

Compared Figure 4a and b with Figure 4c, the appearance of emulsions co-stabilized by gelatin

341

and Laponite, it can be found that the CDs show higher efficiency than gelatin in co-stabilizing

342

the emulsion with Laponite. As a consequence, the removal of gelatin matrixes favors the

343

preparation of emulsions with a higher emulsion volume fraction at low CDs-to-Laponite mass

344

ratio, e.g., emulsion with 100% emulsion volume fraction prepared at a CDs-2-to Laponite mass

345

ratio of 15%.

346 347

Figures 4d and 4e show the morphology (inset) and average droplet size of emulsions

348

co-stabilized by Laponite with CDs-1 and CDs-2, respectively, with various CDs-to-Laponite

349

mass ratios. Apparently, all the as-prepared emulsions either stabilized by Laponite particles or 18 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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350

co-stabilized by CDs and Laponite particles possess spherical droplets (insets). However, the

351

droplet size of Laponite stabilized emulsion is increased due to the formation of multiple

352

emulsions by the introduction of either CDs-1 or CDs-2 at low CDs-to-Laponite mass ratios, and

353

multiple W/O/W emulsions having the largest apparent droplet diameter are observed at a

354

CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio of 30%. The emulsion droplet size decreases with an increase in the

355

CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio when the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio is higher than 30% indicating

356

that the formation of CDs-Laponite composite aggregates helps prevent the coalescence of

357

emulsion droplets. When the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio is higher than 45%, the droplet

358

diameter of emulsions co-stabilized by CDs and Laponite is smaller than that stabilized only by

359

Laponite and the droplets become more uniform (Figure S9a and b, Supporting Information).

360

The emulsion with the smallest droplet size and most uniform droplets is prepared at 75% of

361

CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio, at which the CDs-Laponite aqueous dispersions reach their

362

maximum turbidity (Figure 2b and d), i.e., the CDs induce a complete aggregation between CDs

363

and Laponite particles. Compared Figure 4d and e with Figure 4f, the morphology (inset) and

364

average droplet size of emulsions co-stabilized by Laponite and gelatin, it can be seen that the

365

average droplet sizes of the two CDs co-stabilized emulsions are almost same and display similar

366

variations with that of gelatin co-stabilized emulsion due to the similarity of their functional

367

groups with the that of gelatin. However, the two CDs exert much stronger effect on the average

368

emulsion droplet size than gelatin. More importantly, the gelatin cannot induce formation of a

369

multi-phase emulsion. This further demonstrates that the function of CDs in co-stabilizing

370

emulsions is dependent more on the properties of CDs than the gelatin. 19 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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371 372

The formation of a multi-phase W/O/W emulsion is ascribed to the unevenness of the

373

CDs-Laponite composite in both wettability and particle shape when the CDs-to-Laponite mass

374

ratio is less than 45%, resulting in a large contact angle hysteresis. Consequently, the

375

CDs-Laponite composites can stabilize both inner and outer droplets of the multiple emulsions.44

376 377

The unevenness of the CDs-Laponite composite can be ascertained by the difference of Laponite

378

and CDs in both composition and shape, as well as the incomplete aggregation between CDs and

379

Laponite particles as the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio is lower than 45% (Figure 2b and 2d). The

380

Laponite particles adsorbed with CDs, i.e., CDs-Laponite composite aggregates, have a higher

381

oil-wettability than unmodified Laponite particles (Figure S10, Supporting Information), leading

382

to wettability heterogeneities by a partly coagulated CDs-Laponite composite.

383 384

Photoluminescence imaging of emulsion co-stabilized by CDs and Laponite particles. Figure

385

5a shows the PL spectra of CDs-1-Laponite aqueous dispersions with various CDs-to-Laponite

386

mass ratios. As shown in Figure 5a, the PL spectrum of the CDs-1 in aqueous dispersion is

387

hardly affected by the introduction of Laponite. With a decrease in the CDs-to-Laponite mass

388

ratio, the fluorescence intensity of the CDs-Laponite aqueous dispersions decreases due to the

389

decrease in the concentration of CDs, especially when the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio is lower

390

than 220%. However, fluorescence intensity is still rather high at the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio

391

of 100%. Therefore, a laser-induced confocal scanning microscope was used to image emulsions 20 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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with moderate CDs-to-Laponite mass ratios.

393 394

Figure 5. (a) PL spectra of CDs-1-Laponite aqueous dispersion with various CDs-to-Laponite

395

mass ratios, the excitation wavelength was fixed at 365 nm; (b) confocal fluorescence and

396

corresponding optical microscope images of emulsion stabilized by CDs-1-Laponite with a

397

CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio of 60% immediately after preparation. The liquid paraffin to water

398

volume ratio of emulsion is 1:1. The Laponite concentration is 5 g/L. The scale bar = 10 μm.

399 400

From Figure 5b, the confocal fluorescence microscope image of emulsion stabilized by

401

CDs-1-Laponite with a CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio of 60%, it can be seen that the green

402

fluorescence emitted from the CDs-1 under UV excitation (488 nm) clearly traces the contour of

403

the emulsion droplets, indicating the competence of the CDs-1 as both a co-stabilizer of

404

emulsion and a fluorescent probe. Compared with the corresponding optical microscope images,

405

it can be determined that almost all of the fluorescent points in the laser-induced confocal

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406

microscope images are located within the emulsion droplet surfaces suggesting that the

407

CDs-1-Laponite composites provide stabilization of the emulsion by adsorbing at the surface of

408

the emulsion droplets and creating a particle barrier with negative charges around the droplets.

409

When the emulsion droplets approach each other, the negatively charged particle barrier impedes

410

the coalescence/flocculation of the droplets and enhances the stability of the emulsions.

411 412

To further evaluate the efficiency of CDs-2 as fluorescent probes and the distribution of Laponite

413

particles in multiple emulsions, emulsions stabilized by CDs-2-Laponite with various

414

CDs-to-Laponite mass ratios were imaged by confocal fluorescence microscopy. It was found

415

that all the as-prepared CDs-2 co-stabilized emulsions were fluorescently imaged except the

416

emulsion with a CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio of 15%. Figure 6 shows the fluorescence images of

417

the emulsions.

418 419

Figure 6. Confocal fluorescence images of emulsions stabilized by CDs-2-Laponite with

420

CDs-to-Laponite mass ratios of (a) 30%, (b) 45%, (c) 60%, (d) 75%, (e) 90% and (f) 150% 22 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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421

immediately after preparation. The liquid paraffin to water volume ratio of emulsions is 1:1. The

422

Laponite concentration is 5 g/L. The scale bar = 25 µm.

423 424

Figure 6 convincingly demonstrates that the CDs-2 can fluorescently label the Laponite particles

425

when the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio is higher than 15%, adsorb on emulsion droplet surfaces

426

together with Laponite particles, and promote the formation of stable emulsion by creating

427

particle barriers. Meanwhile, the multi-phase emulsion formed at the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio

428

of 30% as well as the influence of the CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio on emulsion morphology can

429

be clearly traced by the fluorescence of the CDs-2. Therefore, application of CDs in

430

particle-stabilized emulsions offers a new approach to enhance emulsion stability and provide

431

insight into the stability mechanism of emulsions.

432

433

4. CONCLUSIONS

434

Two CDs with diameters ranging from 5 nm to 10 nm were successively prepared by

435

hydrothermal treatment of gelatin at 200 °C. The CDs prepared by directly dissolving gelatin are

436

scattered on gelatin matrixes and emit blue-purple fluorescence at an excitation wavelength of

437

365 nm, while the CDs prepared by pre-swelled gelatin are free CDs without gelatin matrixes.

438

As nanoparticles, the two as-prepared CDs are decorated with both carboxyl and amino groups

439

inherited from gelatin, and show surface activity. Although the two CDs cannot provide adequate

440

stability for emulsions when used as the lone stabilizers, they can improve emulsion stability by 23 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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Page 24 of 31

441

interacting with Laponite particles when used to stabilize an emulsion with Laponite particles.

442

The CDs without gelatin matrixes show higher co-stabilization efficiency than the CDs with

443

gelatin matrixes. The interaction of the CDs with Laponite particles induced the formation of

444

W/O/W multiple emulsion at a CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio less than 45%, and promoted the

445

formation of O/W emulsion with small and uniform droplet size when the CDs-to-Laponite mass

446

ratios became higher than 60%. Meanwhile, using CDs as the co-stabilizer allows the emulsion

447

to be contoured and the distribution of Laponite particles in emulsions to be traced under UV

448

excitation. This study is among the first to successfully extend the application of CDs to the

449

domain of colloid chemistry.

450 451

ASSOCIATED CONTENT

452

Supporting Information

453

Additional figures, tables and corresponding discussions: TEM images of CDs; XRD patterns,

454

FT-IR and XPS spectra of CDs and gelatin; molar fractions of elements and functional groups in

455

gelatin and CDs; UV-Vis absorption spectra of CDs and gelatin; PL emission spectra of CDs; d

456

(001)

457

viscosity of CDs-Laponite stabilized emulsion as a functional of CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio;

458

surface tension of gelatin, gelatin-Laponite aqueous dispersion and interfacial tension between

459

liquid paraffin and gelatin, gelatin-Laponite aqueous dispersion; appearance of emulsions

460

stabilized by either gelatin or CDs; wettability of CDs-Laponite composites as a function of

461

CDs-to-Laponite mass ratio. This material is available free of charge via the Internet at

spacing of CDs-Laponite with various CDs-to-Laponite mass ratios; conductivity and

24 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

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http://pubs.acs.org.

463 464

AUTHOR INFORMATION

465

Corresponding Author

466

*W. Liu. E-mail: [email protected]; L. Lucia: E-mail: [email protected]

467

Notes

468

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

469 470

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

471

The project was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.

472

31270625, 21206086, and 21406122).

473 474

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