Cellulose nanofibrils-stabilized food-grade Pickering emulsions: Clarifying surface charge's contribution and advancing stabilization mechanism understanding

Pickering emulsions stabilized by cellulose nanofibrils (CN) have sparked significant attention, however the fundamental mechanisms underpinning the stabilization process remain insufficiently elucidated. Focusing on an academic debate of surface charge's contribution to stabilization, this study first explored how the varying carboxyl group contents of TEMPO-oxidized CN (TCNs) impacted Pickering emulsions' formation and stability. TCNs with 662 μmol/g carboxyl groups exhibited distinctive attributes, including larger particle sizes (322 nm in length), improved thermal stability (maximum decomposition temperature of 317 °C), and increased viscosity (1.57 Pa s) compared to their counterparts with 963–1011 μmol/g charge density. Notably, the former one, with a larger three-phase contact angle (51.5°), higher interfacial tension, and greater detachment energy (21.69 × 10−18 J), resulted in a homogeneous dispersion of spherical oil droplets and super-stable Pickering emulsions with a consistent emulsifying index of 100% over 30 days. These findings clearly clarified that TCNs with a lower charge density exhibit superior emulsifying properties. In addition, for the first time, a distinct oil droplet-decorated fibrillar structure was observed, probably suggesting that TCNs might be able to serve as anchoring matrixes to guide the distribution of oil droplets. These structures seemed to impeded the migration and accumulation of the oil droplets, consequently enhancing the stability of the resulting Pickering emulsions. To sum, this study clearly elucidated the role of surface charge in stabilizing cellulose-based Pickering emulsions and proposed a new model to expound the cellulose-oil interaction mechanisms, thus providing new theoretical and practical insights on utilization of CN as highly effective emulsifier for super-stable food-grade Pickering emulsions.