Graphene oxide liquid crystal Pickering emulsions and their assemblies

In this study, we report for the first time the fabrication of graphene-based liquid crystal Pickering emulsions (LCPEs) by promoting the localized alignment of GO nanosheets at the oil/water interfaces using poly(oxypropylene)diamine (D400) to stabilize as well as to cross-link the GO assembly around the oil droplets. The dispersed phase of the LCPEs serves as a soft template for making cross-linked graphene monoliths with the pores controlled by the size of the oil droplets, which is dependent on the ratio of oil to water. It is found that the optimal ratio of oil to water is 1:2 (v/v), under which more uniform size of oil droplets and thus resultant monolith pores is obtained with a narrow pore size distribution. Absence of D400 does not lead to a stable emulsion and a cross-linked structure. The key point of this study is the use of D400, which significantly reduces the interfacial tension at interface of oil and water and thus results in a stable emulsion.