Résumé
Nowadays, among all the stabilizers used to protect emulsions from instabilities, solid particles may be the ones meeting the greatest enthusiasm. Indeed, if the ability of solid particles to stabilize emulsions was scarcely studied during most of the 20th century, the number of studies dealing with “Pickering emulsions” has dramatically increased since the end of the nineties. In this chapter, the first part will be dedicated to reminding the history of Pickering emulsions, from their discreet discovery 120 years ago to the special consideration they are currently receiving. This historical overview will be a good opportunity to briefly review the numerous types of solid materials that can be used as stabilizers, which are as diverse as the application fields of Pickering emulsions. After this contextualization, the unique features of these systems will be exposed. Notably, physicochemical mechanisms underlying emulsion stability, droplet size, and emulsion type will be detailed. These are the keys for the smart design of solid-stabilized emulsions, by finely controlling their composition and preparation process.