Fig. 1. Competitive binding by Lewis basic zwitterionic ligands and polymer constituents to Lewis acidic naked NC surfaces dictates the propensity and rate at which NCPSs form at a liquid-liquid interface.

It also dictates important aspects of buckling behavior of the interfacial film when solidified on interfacial compression. At sufficiently high concentrations of the zwitterionic ligand, it becomes possible to reconfigure the solid-like state of a buckled interfacial film of NCPSs back into a liquid-like state (that is, where the wrinkles are no longer observed). The time frame for this dissipative process is also dependent on ligand concentration.