Effect of Counterion Choice on the Stability of Cellulose Nanocrystal Pickering Emulsions

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) with three different counterions (H+, Na+, K+) were used to prepare oil-in-water Pickering emulsions with and without salt; their stability to coalescence and resistance to creaming were tested using two oil types (high-polarity corn oil and superlow polarity hexadecane). Without salt, only acid-form CNCs could stabilize corn oil emulsions, whereas the salt-form Na+-CNCs and K+-CNCs failed. None of the CNCs could …