Pickering emulsions stabilized with two-dimensional (2D) materials: A comparative study

In this paper, we study the preparation of Pickering emulsions using two-dimensional (2D) materials: graphene oxide (GO) and hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets (h-BNNS). The type of the obtained emulsions, the droplet size and the rheological behavior were investigated for both GO and h-BNNS based emulsions. The results show that two types of emulsion, direct oil-in-water (O/W) and indirect water-in-oil (W/O) may be produced due to the different hydrophilic properties of the 2D materials. Besides, similar microstructures and droplet sizes are obtained, as well as analogue rheological behaviors. Thus, depending on the potential application, it is possible to tune the emulsion type, W/O or O/W, by choosing the 2D material possessing the most interesting properties for the sought application.