This study aimed to clarify the effect of different emulsifiers on the structural and functional properties of
ethylcellulose (EC) based oleogels prepared with sunflower oil. Oleogels were formulated with 4 wt% EC as the
oleogelator and 1 wt% emulsifier, including glyceryl monostearate (GMS), sorbitan monooleate (SMO), sorbitan
monostearate (SMS), soybean lecithin (SBL), glyceryl monolaurate (GML), and sorbitan monolaurate (Span20).
The incorporation of emulsifiers significantly influenced oleogel appearance, transparency, and color: EC-Span20
exhibited the highest clarity, EC-GMS appeared opaque and whitish, and EC-SBL showed a distinctive orange-red
hue. Microscopic analysis showed emulsifiers induced distinct crystalline morphologies, while FTIR analysis
indicated that emulsifier-EC interactions mainly relied on van der Waals forces. Small-angle X-ray scattering
revealed that GMS and SBL promoted highly ordered lamellae, whereas Span20 and SMO formed short-range
lamellar clusters. Despite these structural modifications, X-ray diffraction confirmed that all oleogels retained
the β-crystalline form of EC. Functionally, emulsifiers enhanced performance: GMS, GML, SBL, and SMO
significantly increased hardness, and all improved oil-binding capacity (OBC), among which EC-GMS had the
highest OBC (55.25 %), over twice of the control’s (26.17 %). These findings show emulsifiers can effectively
modulate EC based oleogels’ structural and functional properties, supporting their use in tailored food system
design.