Cellulose-rich oleogels prepared with an emulsion-templated approach

This work focuses on the development of new, structured oleogels by using cellulose-rich composites. A facile, two-step process was used for oleogel production by first preparing an oil-in-water emulsion stabilized by regenerated cellulose (RC) and carboxylmethyl cellulose (CMC), followed by freeze-drying to selectively evaporate the water phase. The adsorption of cellulose on the surfaces of the oil droplets was confirmed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Oscillatory shear rheology was used to evaluate the effect of the RC concentration on the rheological behavior of the emulsions and oleogels. Due to the reinforcement from the entanglements and interactions, an increase in the RC concentration was found to increase the storage (G′) and loss (G″) modulus of the emulsions and oleogels. The oleogels showed a high gel strength of G′>15,000 Pa, as well as good thixotropic recovery, thus holding great potential for bio-related fields such as foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.