Triggered In Situ Disruption And Inversion Of Nanoparticle-Stabilized Droplets

Emulsion inversion, from water-in-oil (w/o) to oil-in-water (o/w), was accomplished by employing tetrahydropyran-containing ligands that undergo facile deprotection, converting the nanoparticles from hydrophobic to hydrophilic. These ligand-tailored nanoparticles were used to prepare w/o emulsions that were disrupted, and inverted, to o/w systems simply by lowering the solution pH. The inversion process could be triggered by light using a photoacid generator.