I dissolved a medium molecular weight polymer at 135 degree celcius and after removing it from flask, i poured it into glass bottle for further use but it became a gel like structure. Can anyone elaborate this effect? Why sometimes dissolved polymers in a solvent become gel like structures?
There is high probability that polymer-solvent combination you have chosen is compatible only at elevated temperatures.
A lot of polymer properties depend on chain mobility. At temperatures above melting/softening point chains are highly mobile and very often you can get "homogenous solution" with far from optimal solvent.
And when temperature drops chains become more rigid and, due to weak solvent-polymer interaction you get polymer-polymer interaction, which forms a structural network/ And now instead of proper solution you get swollen polymer or gel.
Can you share a little bit more details about what polymer and solvent you are using as well as a concentration you are working with?
Igors Sivacovs Thank you for answering the problem. I have been trying to dissolve PMP in Toluene.
As I know it is pretty common for polyolefin to behave like that.
Actually PMP solubility have already been addressed on ResearchGate before
https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_solvent_can_be_used_for_the_dissolution_of_Polmethylpentene
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Solubility_of_PMP_in_solvent
Maybe it would help
Good luck !
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