Gels Structures Properties And Functions

This volume includes 28 contributions to the Toyoichi Tanaka Memorial Symposium on Gels which took place at Arcadia Ichigaya on September 10th-12th, 2008. The contributions from leading scientists cover a broad spectrum of topics concerning: Structure and Functional Properties of Gels - Swelling of Gels - Industrial and Biomedical Application. The symposium was held in the style of Faraday Discussions, which stimulated the active discussion. After the symposium, each manuscript was rewritten based on the discussion and the critical review. Since the research on gels is becoming more and more important both for academia and industry, this book will be an essential source of information.

This book covers various molecular, metal-organic, dynamic covalent, polymer and other gels, focusing on their driving interactions, structures and properties. It consists of six chapters demonstrating interesting examples of these gels, classified by the type of driving interaction, and also discusses the effect of these interactions on the gels’ structures and properties. The book offers an interesting and useful guide for a broad readership in various fields of chemical and materials science.

"Molecular Gels: Materials with Self-Assembled Fibrillar Networks" is a comprehensive treatise on gelators, especially low molecular-mass gelators and the properties of their gels. The structures and modes of formation of the self-assembled fibrillar networks (SAFINs) that immobilize the liquid components of the gels are discussed experimentally and theoretically. The spectroscopic, rheological, and structural features of the different classes of low molecular-mass gelators are also presented. Many examples of the application of the principal analytical techniques for investigation of molecular gels (including SANS, SAXS, WAXS, UV-vis absorption, fluorescence and CD spectroscopies, scanning electron, transmission electron and optical microscopies, and molecular modeling) are presented didactically and in-depth, as are several of the theories of the stages of aggregation of individual low molecular-mass gelator molecules leading to SAFINs. Several actual and potential applications of molecular gels in disparate fields (from silicate replication of nanostructures to art conservation) are described. Special emphasis is placed on perspectives for future developments. This book is an invaluable resource for researchers and practitioners either already researching self-assembly and soft matter or new to the area. Those who will find the book useful include chemists, engineers, spectroscopists, physicists, biologists, theoreticians, and materials scientists.

A gel is a state of matter that consists of a three-dimensional cross-linked polymer network and a large amount of solvent. Because of their structural characteristics, gels play important roles in science and technology. The science of gels has attracted much attention since the discovery of the volume phase transition by Professor Toyoichi Tanala at MIT in 1978. MDPI planned to publish a Special Issue in Gels to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this discovery, which received submissions of 13 original papers and one review from various areas of science. We believe that readers will find this Special Issue informative as to the recent advancements of gel research and the broad background of gel science.

This book covers various molecular, metal-organic, dynamic covalent, polymer and other gels, focusing on their driving interactions, structures and properties. It consists of six chapters demonstrating interesting examples of these gels, classified by the type of driving interaction, and also discusses the effect of these interactions on the gels' structures and properties. The book offers an interesting and useful guide for a broad readership in various fields of chemical and materials science.

Nano Design for Smart Gels addresses the formation and application of technological gels and how nanostructural prospects are fundamental to gelling. Topics focus on the classification of gels based on small molecules and polymer gellers, biogels, stimulation conditions, topological, thermodynamic and kinetic aspects and characterization techniques. The book outlines structure and characterization concepts in order to provide pragmatic tools for the design and tailoring of new functional gel architectures. It provides an important source for readers and researchers who are currently or may soon be in research with gels, presenting an overview of fundamental topics. Highlights the building-blocks that make up the main functional groups that result in gelator compounds Provides an accessible source to the most common responses of gels, classified in their functional groups Outlines major characterization techniques, showing how they can be combined