Interfacial Stabilization of Highly Concentrated Perfluorohexanone-in-Water Emulsions by Alkyl Polyglycosides

Abstract

Perfluorohexanone (C6F12O) is a fluorinated liquid that is both hydrophobic and oleophobic, resulting in poor compatibility with conventional hydrocarbon-based surfactants and making its emulsification in water challenging. Herein, emulsions with a high content of internal C6F12O phase (C6F12O/water mass ratio of 8:2) stabilized by alkyl polyglycosides (APGs) were constructed with improved interfacial stabilization. Interfacial tension analysis, Gibbs adsorption fitting, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations reveal that APG12 forms a dense and ordered adsorption layer at the C6F12O–water interface, resulting in enhanced interfacial stability and facilitating emulsification. The obtained emulsion exhibits uniform submicron droplets and excellent storage stability, as reflected by its low apparent droplet coarsening rate. The aqueous continuous phase effectively suppresses the premature volatilization of C6F12O and facilitates its transport and retention during applications. As a proof of concept, fire suppression tests show that the emulsion slightly shortens the extinguishing time (from 10.02 to 9.82 s) while reducing agent consumption by 7%. This work provides insights into the interfacial stabilization and delivery of volatile fluorinated liquids through emulsion construction using conventional hydrocarbon surfactants.