Interfacial Structures of Gel Network and Solvent Distributions

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26410219
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Polymer/Textile materials
• Research Institution: Yamagata University
• Principal Investigator: Sano Masahito 山形大学, 大学院理工学研究科, 教授 (40344816)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: ゲル・固体界面 / 共焦点ラマン顕微鏡 / 溶媒分布 / 濡れ / 溶媒緩和 / ネットワーク

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To understand gel interface, we need to know its thickness and relaxation time. Distributions of gelator and solvents near a solid surface were directly mapped using confocal Raman microscopy. Completely miscible binary solvents, xylene and octanenitrile, were gelled by 12-hydroxystearic acid. Only at the solid interfaces that could be wetted completely by xylene, xylene existed in excess over a distance of 200 micrometers. The excess concentration depended linearly on the distance from the solid surface and disappeared taking over 3 hours, while octanenitrile and the gelator distributed uniformly. Enthalpic interaction of xylene and the solid surface is responsible for the concentration excess. Both the gel network and the solvent’s cohesive energy are thought to cause the long distance dependence.

Free Research Field

化学