POS4-0275
Wood-mimetic hollow microbeads using cellulose nanofiber-stabilized Pickering emulsion polymerization
Topic
S4. Colloids, Interfaces, and Molecular Assemblies for Functional Soft Materials
When and Where
Sep 29, 2026
08:30 - 09:30
Room 301 (Grand Ballroom)
Session Chairs
Hae Jung SON
Boseok KANG
Presenter(s)
Gyuhwan Kim (Kyushu University)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
To address the escalating environmental threat posed by microplastic pollution, this work presents a sustainable strategy for fabricating wood-mimetic microbeads via Pickering emulsion (PE)-templated polymerization. The PEs were formulated with isoeugenol as the phenolic monomer and supporting oils as Ostwald ripening inhibitors, stabilized by amphiphilic acetylated cellulose nanofibers (AcCNFs). Surface acetylation of the CNFs significantly enhanced the emulsification efficiency of the oil phase, while the highly hydrophobic supporting oils suppressed isoeugenol leakage and prevented droplet deformation under the polymerization conditions. Subsequently, the hollow microbeads (> 5 µm in diameter) were synthesized through enzymatic polymerization using laccase, an oxidase naturally involved in plant cell wall lignification. The laccase-mediator system
(LMS) efficiently catalyzed the oxidative coupling of isoeugenol, yielding a cross-linked artificial lignin polymer. Furthermore, the tunability of LMS parameters enabled modulation of the physicochemical properties of the resulting microbeads. To elucidate the effects of process variables—including oil phase composition, mediator type, and oxygen supply—the fabricated microbeads were characterized in terms of their morphology and chemical structures through spectroscopic analyses. Overall, this study demonstrates that integrating biomimetic enzymatic polymerization with PE templating offers a versatile and eco-friendly route for producing renewable microbeads composed of cellulose and artificial lignin.
(LMS) efficiently catalyzed the oxidative coupling of isoeugenol, yielding a cross-linked artificial lignin polymer. Furthermore, the tunability of LMS parameters enabled modulation of the physicochemical properties of the resulting microbeads. To elucidate the effects of process variables—including oil phase composition, mediator type, and oxygen supply—the fabricated microbeads were characterized in terms of their morphology and chemical structures through spectroscopic analyses. Overall, this study demonstrates that integrating biomimetic enzymatic polymerization with PE templating offers a versatile and eco-friendly route for producing renewable microbeads composed of cellulose and artificial lignin.
