Readily accessible multifunctional fluorous emulsions

Abstract

Strategies for the facile fabrication of nanoscale materials and devices represent an increasingly important challenge for chemists. Here, we report a simple, one-pot procedure for the formation of perfluorocarbon emulsions with defined functionalization. The fluorous core allows for small molecules containing a fluorous tail to be stabilized inside the emulsions. The emulsions can be formed using a variety of hydrophilic polymers resulting in an array of sizes (90 nm to > 1 micron) and surface charges (-95 mV to 65 mV) of fluid particles. The surface of the emulsions can be further functionalized, covalently or non-covalently, through in situ or post-emulsion modification. The total preparation time is 30 minutes or less from commercially available reagents without specialized equipment. We envision these emulsions to be applicable to both biological and materials systems.