Stimulus‐Responsive Gas Marbles as an Amphibious Carrier for Gaseous Materials

Gas marbles are a new family of particle‐stabilized soft dispersed system with a soap bubble‐like air‐in‐water‐in‐air structure. Herein, stimulus‐responsive character is successfully introduced to a gas marble system for the first time using polymer particles carrying a poly(tertiary amine methacrylate) (pKa ≈7) steric stabilizer on their surfaces as a particulate stabilizer. The gas marbles exhibited long‐term stability when transferred onto the planar surface of liquid water, provided that the solution pH of the subphase is basic and neutral. In contrast, the use of acidic solutions led to immediate disintegration of the gas marbles, resulting in release of the inner gas. The critical minimum solution pH required for long‐term gas marble stability correlates closely with the known pKa value for the poly(tertiary amine methacrylate) stabilizer. It also demonstrates amphibious motions of the gas marbles. It successfully produced stimulus‐responsive “gas marbles” using sterically stabilized polystyrene particles. The pH‐responsive steric stabilizer chains on the particle surface enabled on‐demand disruption of the gas marbles trough pH control, leading to release of the inner gas. The gas marbles exhibited amphibious motion, indicating their potential for applications in the encapsulation, delivery, and release of gaseous materials.