Construction Of Continuous Porous Organogels, Hydrogels, And Bicontinuous Organo/Hydro Hybrid Gels From Bicontinuous Microemulsions

A new class Of unique soft gels was produced by gelations or bicontinuous microemulsions (BME), Three alternative composite gel systems, namely BME organogel, hydrogel and in organo/hydro hybrid gel, prepared by hydrogelation and/or organogelation of BME solutions were proposed. These gels were self-supported, and aqueous and oil microphases bicontinuously coexisted and were immobilized ill the gels. Even in "one side only" gelation products Such as the BME organogel and the BME hydrogel, alternate solvent phases without gelator were also macroscopically immobilized. Microscopic structures Of the gels were confirmed by CLSM and SEM observation. The BME organogels of hydrogels and BME hybrid gels showed Continuous Porous structures and double network structures, respectively. Mesostructures of the gels significantly depended on gelation conditions. It was found that the hierarchical structure of the BME gels was regulated by competition among three synergetic rate factors: immobilization of the BME structure by gelation. mesoscopic phase separation by gelation, and the time-dependent transformation of a solution/solution Structure toward a thermodynamic structure in an equilibrium state.