Effect of hydrophobic modification of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose on silicone oil emulsions

To study the effect of hydrophobic modification of the emulsifier on the relationship between emulsion stability and polymer emulsifier concentration, silicone oil emulsions were prepared using hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (original HPMC) and HPMC stearoxy ether (hydrophobic HPMC) at concentrations around their overlap concentrations. Both HPMC types completely emulsified the silicone oil. However, the volume fraction of silicone oil in the emulsion prepared using hydrophobic HPMC was less than that that by the original HPMC, and the average oil droplet size in the former emulsion was less than that in the latter emulsion. Increasing HPMC concentration led to increase in both the amount of adsorbed polymer emulsifier and the storage moduli in the linear region, irrespective of which HPMC was used. Stress-strain sweep curves obtained by a rheo-optical method showed that emulsions stabilized by the hydrophobic HPMC flowed slowly, even beyond the yield stress, whereas emulsions prepared using the original HPMC flowed quickly beyond the yield stress. The storage moduli of the emulsions prepared by the hydrophobic HPMC were larger than those prepared using the original HPMC.