Self-organization of 3,4,5-tris(octyloxy)benzamide in solution and embedding of the aggregates into methacrylate resins

The physical gelation of organic solutions of 3,3,5 -tris(octyloxy)benzamid e at ambient temperature, subsequent to shock-freezing in liquid nitrogen i s reported. Microscopic investigations of the morphology of these "supramol ecular organogels" suggests the occurrence of networks of rod-like crystals with diameters between 0.1-1 mu m. The fine structure of the gel was shown to depend on the solvent used. Taking monomer/crosslinker mixtures as solv ents, the gel structures could be permanently fixed by low-temperature curi ng. Comparing the morphology of the dried liquid gels and the polymerized g els, no change due to the hardening of the matrix have been found. The supr amolecular aggregates of the benzamide seem to contain considerable amounts of monomers, because the observed melting temperature depression can not b e explained by the finite-size of the crystals.