Nanostructuring fiber morphology and solvent inclusions in 12-hydroxystearic acid / canola oil organogels

It is the intention of this review to develop strategies for modifying the rheological properties of organogels through a better understanding of how microstructure can be manipulated or tailored. 12HSA/canola oil gels may be modified via the manipulation of the concentration and storage temperature. Major differences were observed between gels stored at 5 °C and 30 °C. Gels produced at 5 °C are weaker than the gels stored at 30 °C as well the crystals are less ordered, and have more branching due to crystallographic mismatches. This allows gels, stored at 5 °C, to better entrap solvent with no syneresis occurring up to 6 months. The gels stored at 30 °C are more annealed, having a higher degree of order in the crystalline network with less oil inclusions. This resulted in gels with a higher elastic component; however these systems did not effectively entrap oil, with syneresis being observed after 1 week.