Controllable gelation of methylcellulose by a salt mixture

The effects of a salt mixture consisting of a salt-out salt (NaCl) and a salt-in salt (Nal) on the sol-gel transition of methylcellulose (MC) in aqueous solution have been studied by means of micro differential scanning calorimetry and rheometry. The salt mixture was found to have a combined effect from the salt-out and salt-in salts in the mixture, and the salt effect was dependent on the water hydration abilities of the component ions and ion concentration. At a fixed total salt concentration, the sol-gel transition temperature nicely followed a rule of mixing: T _p = m ₁T _p1 + m ₂T _p2 where T _p, T _p1, and T _p2 are the gelation peak temperatures for the MC solutions with a salt mixture, NaCl, and NaI, respectively, and m _i is the molar fraction of the salt component i in the salt mixture. The linear rule of mixing proved that the effects of NaCl and NaI on the sol-gel transition of MC are completely independent. In addition, the presence of a single salt or a salt mixture in a MC solution does not change the essential mechanism of MC gelation. Therefore, the sol-gel transition of MC can be simply controlled by a salt mixture consisting of a salt-out salt and a salt-in salt. The rheological results supported the micro thermal results excellently. But the gel strength of MC containing salts was influenced by both salt type and salt concentration.