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Cluster growth from a dilute system in a percolation process

Polymer Journal volume 52, pages 289–297 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

The gelation process has been explained in the framework of percolation models. Although the percolation models accurately predict the gelation behaviors above the overlap concentration of prepolymers (c*0), they do not predict the gelation behaviors below c*0. We measured the osmotic pressure during the gelation of a series of model polymer gels, namely, tetra-polyethylene glycol (PEG) gels. The osmotic pressure decreased during the gelation reaction and was constant after the sol–gel transition. These results suggest that the clusters grow and fill the system at the sol–gel transition point. As a result, the gels behaved as semidilute systems regardless of the initial polymer concentration. This representation of the sol–gel transition at the overlap condition of the critical clusters corresponds well to the aggregation process predictrion. These results will help better understanding of general percolation problems in the dilute regime.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science through the Grants-in-Aid for the Graduate Program for Leaders in Life Innovation, the International Core Research Center for Nanobio, Core-to-Core Program A. Advanced Research Networks, the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) Grant Number 18H02027 to TS, and Scientific Research (S) Grant Number 16746899 to UC and by the Japan Science and Technology Agency through Center of Innovation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan

    Ikuo Fujinaga, Takashi Yasuda, Ung-il Chung, Takuya Katashima & Takamasa Sakai

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Keio University, 3-14-1, Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 223-8522, Japan

    Makoto Asai

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, 116th St. and Broadway, New York, NY, 10027, USA

    Makoto Asai

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  1. Ikuo Fujinaga
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Correspondence to Makoto Asai or Takamasa Sakai.

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Fujinaga, I., Yasuda, T., Asai, M. et al. Cluster growth from a dilute system in a percolation process. Polym J 52, 289–297 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-019-0279-z

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