Studies in inorgano-organic gels in pinene. Part I. Gels of some sodium soaps in pinene and their cooling and heating curves

Abstract

The cooling curves for gel-forming solutions of sodium oleate and sodium stearate in pinene lie above that for pinene, and show definite arrests at the point of setting of these solutions to the gel state, indicating that heat is evolved during gelation. The Heat of Gelation has been calculated; the ratio of the molar heat of gelation to the absolute temperature of gelation appears to be constant for a system. An attempt has been made to explain the evolution of heat at the point of setting from a thermodynamic standpoint. The heating curves for gels of either sodium oleate or sodium stearate in pinene are sigmoid, suggesting that conduction of heat in a gel is lower than that in a solution or sol.