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Microscopy and FTIR investigations of the thermal gelation of methylcellulose in glycols

Fahad, Muhammad; Gilbert, Marianne; Dickens, Phill

Authors

Muhammad Fahad

Marianne Gilbert

Phill Dickens



Abstract

Methylcellulose is a well-known polymer due to its reverse thermal gel formation property in aqueous solutions. Support materials play an important role in the additive manufacturing of three dimensional parts using processes that utilise inkjet technology. This paper presents novel compositions of methylcellulose (MC) in non-aqueous solvents and investigates the thermal gel formation of these compositions. Compositions containing MC in different glycols (ethylene, propylene and butylene glycol) were prepared. Suitability of these compositions as reusable support materials for jetting based three dimensional printing processes have been previously established. In this paper, the mechanism of gelation of MC in three different glycols is explained and compared using experimental techniques such as heating and cooling between 25–150°C, hot stage microscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Based on the results, a generalised gel formation diagram for MC in glycols is presented and compared with aqueous MC gel formation. The results showed that MC forms gels in glycols upon cooling and the temperatures of gel formation/melting are different for each glycol. Understanding of the gel formation of these compositions can help in fine tuning these compositions for their performance during three dimensional printing.

Citation

Fahad, M., Gilbert, M., & Dickens, P. (2017). Microscopy and FTIR investigations of the thermal gelation of methylcellulose in glycols. Polymer Science Series A / Vysokomolekulyarnye Soedineniya, Ser. A, 59(1), 88-97. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0965545X17010047

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 14, 2016
Online Publication Date Feb 24, 2017
Publication Date 2017-01
Deposit Date Aug 2, 2017
Journal Polymer Science, Series A
Print ISSN 0965-545X
Electronic ISSN 1555-6107
Publisher MAIK Nauka/Interperiodica
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 59
Issue 1
Pages 88-97
DOI https://doi.org/10.1134/S0965545X17010047
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/838242
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1134/S0965545X17010047
Related Public URLs http://pleiades.online/
Additional Information © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2017


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