Abstract
Freeze-fracture TEM images of polymer network structure in aqueous hydroxypropyl guar (HPG) gels permit direct correlations between observed gel morphology and macroscopic chemical and mechanical properties. HPG in aqueous solution associates via hydrogen bonding, even without titanate crosslinker, to form an extended network, the structure of which depends on the electrolyte concentration. The titanate crosslinker acts only to weld together polymer molecules already associated by hydrogen bonding. Mechanical shear degrades the gel by breaking up the network inhomogeneously to form “fractured gel particles small domains of well-crosslinked gel separated by fluid domains.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 283-289 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Chemical Engineering Communications |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue number | 4-6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 1987 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:RKP would like to acknowledge financial support from the American Petroleum Institute. JANZ would like to acknowledge the assistence of M. Sammon, F. Padden, H.D. Keith and A. Lovinger of AT&T Bell Labs with the electron microscopy.
Keywords
- Electron microscopy
- Enhanced oil recovery
- Freeze-fracture
- Gels
- Guar
- Polymers