Programmable Emulsions via Nucleophile-Induced Covalent Surfactant Modifications

Abstract

Responsive surfactants designed with kinetic control are rare and offer new opportunities in generating tunable reactive assemblies. In this work, we discuss the design of novel molecular assemblies based on covalently triggerable surfactants programmed to respond exclusively to nucleophilic triggers to cause interfacial alterations. Through a formal SN2′-type Michael addition chemistry, these induced alterations at the interface of single and dynamic double emulsions can be kinetically tuned and brought about by various small molecule nucleophiles and functionalized nanoassemblies to cause macroscopic responses, such as bursting or morphology changes. In addition, separate responsive modalities can be used to further control the emulsion systems to enable cascade trigger behavior and programmed release applications.