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Studies on rheological, thermal, and morphological properties of methylcellulose gel in aqueous medium
Author(s) -
Singh Ratan Pal,
Kundu Patit Paban
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.25202
Subject(s) - materials science , rheology , aqueous solution , dynamic mechanical analysis , bead , differential scanning calorimetry , optical microscope , dynamic modulus , modulus , composite material , chemical engineering , polymer , scanning electron microscope , thermodynamics , chemistry , physics , engineering
The rheological, morphological, and thermal behavior of aqueous methylcellulose (MC) gels was investigated by optical microscope, dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA), and differential scanning calorimeter. The double crossover between the storage modulus and loss modulus during the frequency scan in DMA suggests the transition from gel to sol state. These gel networks are comprised of bead‐rod structures, which is visible under the optical microscope. Furthermore, the degelation mechanism of gels comprises of the thermodynamic viable bead burst phenomenon. The reheated samples of MC under dynamic compression show partial irreversibility of the MC aqueous system, indicating the possible presence of weakly coupled random coils and helix. The phenomenon of turbidity of MC aqueous gels is discussed with the help of a large bead model, in which the small‐sized beads present in aqueous solution collide with each other to form large beads. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:2024–2031, 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers