INS4-0399
From Water–Water Interfacial Stability to Functional All-Aqueous Gels
Topic
S4. Colloids, Interfaces, and Molecular Assemblies for Functional Soft Materials
When and Where
Sep 30, 2026
16:50 - 17:05
Room 106
Session Chairs
Yoon-Ho HWANG
Presenter(s)
KyuHan Kim (Seoul National University of Science and Technology)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Aqueous two-phase systems (ATPSs) provide a unique platform for constructing structured fully aqueous systems owing to their biocompatibility and compositional versatility. However, the poor stability of water–water interfaces has limited the development of structured all-aqueous materials. Here, we establish a framework in which control of particle behavior at water–water interfaces enables the fabrication of functional all-aqueous gels with controlled architectures. We identify depletion-induced aggregation of colloidal particles at water–water interfaces as the primary origin of interfacial instability in conventional water-in-water (W/W) emulsions. By suppressing this aggregation, stable particle adsorption is achieved, enabling the formation of stable W/W emulsions and water-in-water high internal phase emulsions (W/W HIPEs) with highly connected aqueous domains. These stabilized structures serve as versatile templates for all-aqueous gel fabrication. Structured W/W emulsions can be converted into all-aqueous gels through photopolymerization while preserving the emulsion-derived architecture. The resulting gels exhibit tunable connectivity, transport pathways, and mechanical properties through control of interfacial interactions, phase morphology, and polymerization strategy.
