The Phenomenon of Pickering Stabilization: A Basic Introduction

The ability of solid particles to adhere to soft deformable interfaces, for example to the surface of emulsion droplets or bubbles, is currently the subject of renewed interest in material science. The phenomenon that solid particles can reside at the interface of droplets and bubbles, thereby providing them with resistance against coalescence or fusion, and (debatable) coarsening or Ostwald ripening, is known as Pickering stabilization and named after Spencer Umfreville Pickering. This chapter reviews the history and basic physical understanding of Pickering stabilization, and looks at Pickering stabilizers of nanoscale dimensions, rough surfaces and non-spherical stabilizers.