Lauric Arginate/Cellulose Nanocrystal Nanorods-Stabilized Alkenyl Succinic Anhydride Pickering Emulsion: Enhancement of Stabilization and Paper Sizing Performance

Biodegradable colloidal particle materials are becoming attractive candidates as eco-friendly chemical additives in the low-carbon economy era. However, developing cheap, stable, and efficient paper-sizing agents is still a challenging issue both for paper making academic community and industry. Here, an easy-fabricating, stable, and high-performance alkenyl succinic anhydride (ASA) paper-sizing emulsion is developed, which is stabilized by lauric arginate (LAE)/cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) nanorods. Furthermore, the chemical crosslinking between ASA and LAE/CNC nanorods can adjust the wettability and interfacial adsorption of LAE/CNC, resulting in improved stability of ASA-sizing emulsion. This novel paper-sizing emulsion shows a small droplet size (0.8 μm), high hydrolysis resistance, and a high paper-sizing degree (300 s) along with a remarkable hydrophobicity contact angle of 110° for long-term storage. This work opens a door for realizing an interfacial self-assembled Pickering-stabilizer, which leads to an environmentally friendly, pervasive and cost-effective emulsification technique for the next-generation paper-sizing additives.