Surface compaction versus stretching in Pickering emulsions stabilised by microgels

•Review of Pickering emulsions stabilised by soft deformable microgels•Controlled deformation of adsorbed microgels at the oil–water interface•Link between interfacial microgel organisation and corresponding emulsion properties•Microgel and process parameters governing the microgel packing at the interface•New opportunities in the field of materials obtained from microgel-stabilised emulsions

Colloidal gel particles called microgels have shown their ability to adsorb at an oil–water interface and stabilise emulsion named Pickering emulsions. Such particles are soft, deformable, and porous, and they can swell or contract under the action of an external stimulus. These specificities make them emulsifiers of special interest as they offer a large versatility to emulsions and materials elaborated thereof. This modularity is in counterpart at the origin of an abundant and often contradictory literature. The aim of this paper is to review recent advances in the emulsion stabilisation mechanism, particularly focusing on the microgel conformation at the interface in relation with the mechanical interface behaviour and the emulsion macroscopic stability. A sum up of the unambiguous knowledge is also proposed as well as few central questions that remain to be answered to in the domain.

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