Thermodynamics, morphology and molecular structure of molecular compounds in trisamide triarylamine organogels and pseudo-organogels

In this paper, potentially-gelling binary systems are investigated by DSC, X-ray and Electron microscopy in order to assess their gel status and the role of the Hansen solubility parameter. The low molecular weight organogelator is a Triarylamine Trisamide (TATA) while the solvents consist of a series of halogeno-ethanes and of toluene. Temperature-concentration phase diagrams are mapped out from DSC traces. They reveal the existence of one or more TATA/solvent molecular compounds. The X-ray data, that display different diffraction patterns depending on the solvent and the temperature, show the existence of different molecular structures, and thus confirm the outcome of the T-C phase diagram. Tentative molecular organizations are also discussed in light of previous results obtained in the solid state. The morphology by TEM on dilute systems, and TEM on more concentrated systems highlight the degree of physical cross-links, which leads one to regard some systems as pseudo-gels.

Automated summary

In this paper, potentially-gelling binary systems were studied using DSC, X-ray, and electron microscopy to evaluate their gel status and the role of Hansen solubility parameter. The results showed the existence of one or more molecular compounds between the organogelator (TATA) and solvents, which was confirmed by X-ray data. The morphology analysis by TEM indicated the extent of physical cross-links, suggesting that some systems can be regarded as pseudo-gels.