화학공학소재연구정보센터
Langmuir, Vol.25, No.15, 8400-8403, 2009
The Weak Help the Strong: Low-Molar-Mass Organogelators Harden Bitumen
Low-molar-mass organogelators (LMOG) can turn liquids into thermoreversible gels because they self-assemble into a Fibrous network. In contrast, using the same kind of low-molar-mass additives to harden materials, which are already solidlike on their own, has been hardly exploited. We show here that simple dicarboxylic acids are very efficient low molar-mass organogelators (LMOG) for bitumen. Indeed, they increase the range of temperature where bitumen is a solid. Moreover, the hardness and elastic modulus of bitumen at room temperature are also improved. This concept of improving the mechanical properties of a solid with an LMOG can probably be applied to other materials.