Stabilization of W/CO2 nanodispersions with unusual “surfactants” bearing no headgroups or fluorination

Traditionally, headgroups and fluorocarbon tails (HG&FC) have been recognized as essential components of CO2-philic surfactants for stabilizing W/CO2 microemulsions. Our recent study (RB1910007) implied unusual HG&FC-free surfactants are in fact able to form W/CO2 nanodispersions (NDs). This was a very surprising discovery, with a potentially significant impact on this scientific field. Furthermore, owing to the unusual chemical structure (especially FC-free) these stabilizers could offer important benefits to generate practical, safe, cheap and universal solvents based on dense and supercritical CO2 (sc-CO2). This new experiment will explore why the unusual surfactant architecture is able to stabilize NDs in CO2, by examining the effects of P, T, W0 (water content), surfactant concentration, and different “surfactants” on internal structure of these NDs.