Control of Buckling of Colloidal Supraparticles

The properties of clusters of colloidal particles, often termed supraparticles, are determined by the arrangement of the primary particles. Therefore, controlling the structure formation process is of key importance. While buckled morphologies can result from fast drying kinetics as found in spray drying, controlling the morphology under slow drying conditions remains a challenge. The final morphology of a supraparticle formed from an emulsion droplet can be controlled by manipulating particle-surfactant interactions. Water/oil emulsions are used to template supraparticle formation. The interactions of negatively charged colloidal particles with the surfactants stabilizing the water/oil-interface are tailored via the local pH within the aqueous droplet. At low pH, protonation of the anionic headgroup of the surfactant decreases electrostatic repulsion of the particles, facilitates interfacial adsorption, and subsequently causes buckling. The local pH of the aqueous droplet phase continuously changes during the assembly process. The supraparticle formation pathway can therefore be controlled by determining the point in time at which interfacial adsorption is enabled by adjusting the initial pH. Consequently, the final supraparticle morphology can be tailored at will, from fully buckled structures, via undulated surface morphologies to spherically rough and spherically smooth supraparticles and crystalline colloidal clusters.