Lattice gels

A Classification Scheme for Gels Jishnet Lattice Gels... 

For structures with a high curvature (e.g., small micelles) or situations where orientational interactions become important (e.g., the gel phase of a membrane) lattice-based models might be inappropriate. Off-lattice models for amphiphiles, which are quite similar to their counterparts in polymeric systems, have been used to study the self-assembly into micelles [ ], or to explore the phase behaviour of Langmuir monolayers [ ] and bilayers. In those systems, various phases with a nematic ordering of the hydrophobic tails occur. 

An advanced solution to the problem of decreasing the free mobility of the electrolyte in sealed batteries is its gel formation. By adding some 5-8 wt.% of pyrogenic silica to the electrolyte, a gel structure is formed due to the immense surface area (-200-300 m2 g ) of such silicas, which fixes the sulfuric acid solution molecules by van der Waals bonds within a lattice. These gels have thixotropic properties i.e., by mechanical stirring they can be liquefied and used to Filled into the... 

To ensure quality control material suppliers and developers routinely measure such complex properties as molecular weight and its distribution, crystallinity and crystalline lattice geometry, and detailed fracture characteristics (Chapter 6). They use complex, specialized tests such as gel permeation chromatography (2, 3), wide- and narrow-angle X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and high-temperature pressurized solvent reaction tests to develop new polymers and plastics applications. 

Omstein [276] developed a model for a rigidly organized gel as a cubic lattice, where the lattice elements consist of the polyacrylamide chains and the intersections of the lattice elements represent the cross-links. Figure 7 shows the polymer chains arranged in a cubic lattice as in Omstein s model and several other uniform pore models for comparison. This model predicted r, the pore size, to be proportional to I/Vt, where T is the concentration of total monomer in the gel, and he found that for a 7.5% T gel the pore size was 5 nm. Although this may be more appropriate for regular media, such as zeolites, this model gives the same functional dependence on T as some other, more complex models. 

Kinetic gelation simulations seek to follow the reaction kinetics of monomers and growing chains in space and time using lattice models [43]. In one example, Bowen and Peppas [155] considered homopolymerization of tetrafunctional monomers, decay of initiator molecules, and motion of monomers in the lattice network. Extensive kinetic simulations such as this can provide information on how the structure of the gel and the conversion of monomer change during the course of gelation. Application of this type of model to polyacrylamide gels and comparison to experimental data has not been reported. 

The entrapment method is based on confining the enzyme within the lattice of a polymeric matrix. Polyacrylamide gels have successfully yielded stable enzyme films with a high retention of activity... 

Alkaline earth oxides (AEO = MgO, CaO, and SrO) doped with 5 mol% Nd203 have been synthesised either by evaporation of nitrate solutions and decomposition, or by sol-gel method. The samples have been characterised by chemical analysis, specific surface area measurement, XRD, CO2-TPD, and FTIR spectroscopy. Their catalytic properties in propane oxidative dehydrogenation have been studied. According to detailed XRD analyses, solid solution formation took place, leading to structural defects which were agglomerated or dispersed, their relative amounts depending on the preparation procedure and on the alkaline-earth ion size match with Nd3+. Relationships between catalyst synthesis conditions, lattice defects, basicity of the solids and catalytic performance are discussed. 

Figure. 1 Structural parameters variations of the evaporated and sol-gel samples for the main crystalline phases average grain dimension (a), unit cell mass modifications Am (b), lattice microstrain factor (c), lattice profile anisotropy factor AO (d).

At variance with the evaporated samples, Am and did not change much for the sol-gel ones, in spite of the difference between AE cation radii size (Fig. lb, c). It can be suggested that the sol-gel method succeeded in better introduction of Nd into a solid solution (supported by the TPD results) which also depended to a lower extent on the cation radii size match. The increase of the lattice anisotropy AO (Fig. Id) and the trend of the local strain values to decrease or remain about constant (Fig. lc) indicated that there was competition between disorder sources of different nature dispersed lattice defects and Nd3+ agglomerates. 

According to detailed XRD analyses, the two catalyst preparation procedures under study formed solid solutions. The application of sol-gel method led to improved selectivity to olefins in the reaction of propane ODH, compared to the simple procedure of evaporation and decomposition. However, the propane conversion on the sol-gel catalysts was lower at the same experimental conditions, while the catalysts surface area was higher. Moreover, the sol-gel samples presented higher basicity as shown by C02 TPD. It could be explained by a better incorporation of Nd into the AEO lattice, creating cationic vacancies for attaining electroneutrality and thus rendering the nearby oxide anions coordinatively unsaturated and more basic. 

This process involves the suspension of the biocatalyst in a monomer solution which is polymerized, and the enzymes are entrapped within the polymer lattice during the crosslinking process. This method differs from the covalent binding that the enzyme itself does not bind to the gel matrix. Due to the size of the biomolecule it will not diffuse out of the polymer network but small substrate or product molecules can transfer across or within it to ensure the continuous transformation. For sensing purposes, the polymer matrix can be formed directly on the surface of the fiber, or polymerized onto a transparent support (for instance, glass) that is then coupled to the fiber. The most popular matrices include polyacrylamide (Figure 5), silicone rubber, poly(vinyl alcohol), starch and polyurethane. 

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