Gel Formation by the Self-Assembly of Small Molecules: Insights from Solubility Parameters

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dc.contributor.advisorRaghavan, Srinivasa Ren_US
dc.contributor.authorDiehn, Kevinen_US
dc.contributor.departmentChemical Engineeringen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2014-06-24T05:59:05Z
dc.date.available2014-06-24T05:59:05Z
dc.date.issued2014en_US
dc.description.abstractMany small molecules can self-assemble into long fibers and thereby gel organic liquids. However, no capability exists to predict whether a molecule in a given solvent will form a gel, a thin solution (sol), or an insoluble precipitate. In this thesis, we build a framework for gelation via a common gelator based on Hansen solubility parameters (HSPs). Using HSPs, we construct 3-D plots showing regions of solubility (S), slow gelation (SG), instant gelation (IG), and insolubility (I) for DBS in different solvents. Our central finding is that these regions radiate out as concentric shells. The distance (R0) from the central sphere quantifies the incompatibility between gelator and solvent. The elastic moduli of the gels increase with R0, while the time to gelation decreases with R0. Our approach can be used to design organogels of desired strength and gelation time by judicious choice of a solvent or a blend of solvents.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/15262
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledChemical engineeringen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledPolymer chemistryen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolleddbsen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolleddibenzylidene sorbitolen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledhansen parametersen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledself-assemblyen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledsolubility parametersen_US
dc.titleGel Formation by the Self-Assembly of Small Molecules: Insights from Solubility Parametersen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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