Article
Article
Gel
Article By:
Scherer, George W. DuPont Central Research and Development, Wilmington, Delaware.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.283800
A continuous solid network enveloped in a continuous liquid phase; the solid phase typically occupies less than 10 vol % of the gel. Gels can be classified in terms of the network structure. The network may consist of agglomerated particles (formed, for example, by destabilization of a colloidal suspension; Fig. 1a); a “house of cards” consisting of plates (as in a clay) or fibers (Fig. 1b); polymers joined by small crystalline regions (Fig. 1c and Fig. 2); or polymers linked by covalent bonds (Fig. 1d).
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