Fp. Duval et al., Microscale and macroscale diffusion of water in colloidal gels. A pulsed field gradient and NMR imaging investigation, J PHYS CH B, 103(27), 1999, pp. 5730-5735
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used to determine quantitatively
one-dimensional proton concentration profiles in clay gels prepared from wa
ter/heavy water mixtures, taking into account the variations of spin-spin r
elaxation rate and other effects on the signal intensity. The method has be
en used to determine the diffusion coefficient of water in Laponite gels at
macroscale, by following the diffusion of water from a volume of gel prepa
red with water into a volume of gel prepared with heavy water: The results
have been compared with the self-diffusion coefficients at microscale obtai
ned by pulsed gradient spin-echo (PGSE) NMR. Both results are in agreement
in spite of the complex structure of the gel, but the reduction in diffusio
n coefficient as compared to bulk water is larger than predicted from effec
tive medium theories.