ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Influence of oil in the unfolding of lignin nanoparticles

Abstract: Lignin has enjoyed plenty of spotlight as a potential replacement for various petroleum-derived materials. Converting it into nanoparticles (LNPs) allow lignin to be dispersed in aqueous systems and broaden its applications. One example application is using the LNPs as emulsifiers, harnessing the antioxidant property of the phenolic moieties. As the LNPs exhibited solid-like behaviour, it has been long considered as Pickering emulsifiers. However, our recent results from neutron reflectometry (NR) at the air-water interface and SANS of LNP-stabilised emulsions showed a thickness of about 20 and 200 , respectively; both are smaller than the diameter of the LNPs (about 400 by SAXS). These results suggest that the LNPs are deformed at the interface, the extent of which seemingly dependent on the type of lignin and oil used in the emulsion. The discrepancy between NR and SANS results may also indicate that the adsorption and subsequent deformation may be influenced by the high-energy input during emulsification, but the results are not directly comparable as the NR was performed at the air-water interface, where the fraction of LNP exposed to air could have collapsed more drastically than in oil. Thus, we propose to perform NR at the oil-water interface to complement our current understanding of the deformation of LNPs at the oil-water interface. In turn, such knowledge will allow a precise tuning of the emulsifying properties of LNPs for multiple applications.

Principal Investigator: Dr Theodorus Felix Darpieto Abik
Local Contact: Dr Mario Campana
Experimenter: Ms Lin Chen
Experimenter: Professor Kirsi Mikkonen
Experimenter: Dr Ryan Trevorah
Experimenter: Ms Tuuli Peltola
Experimenter: Mr Niko Havula

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2610547

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2610547

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
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Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Dr Theodorus Felix Darpieto Abik et al; (2026): Influence of oil in the unfolding of lignin nanoparticles, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2610547

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.