Decoupled enhancement: Improving stability without altering rheology in low internal phase Pickering emulsions stabilized by dialdehyde cellulose-ovalbumin Schiff base conjugates.

Improving the high physical stability of Pickering emulsions, while maintaining their low viscosity, faces enormous challenges. In this study, DAC-OVA conjugates (D-OVA) was prepared using dialdehyde cellulose ovalbumin (OVA) via a Schiff base reaction. Then, the characterization of the D-OVA stabilized Pickering emulsions (DPE) were studied. The results showed that the particle size of DAC was decreased, and the initial morphology disappeared after OVA modification. Compared with OVA-stabilized Pickering emulsion (OPE), the zeta potential of DPE increased significantly at different pH values, especially at pH 4.6 and pH 7.0, which increased about 2.2 and 3.5 times, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that D-OVA formed a rigid film at the oil-water interface, and DPE droplets exhibited homogeneous dispersion. The rheological results demonstrated that the viscosity of DPE remained consistently low across varying pH and high temperature conditions. Compared with OPE, the freeze-thaw, thermal, and storage stability of DPE have significantly improved.