1.
Langmuir
; 25(15): 8400-3, 2009 Aug 04.
Artículo
en Inglés
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-19296570
RESUMEN
Low-molar-mass organogelators (LMOG) can turn liquids into thermoreversible gels because they self-assemble into a fibrous network. In contrast, using the same kind of low-molar-mass additives to harden materials, which are already solidlike on their own, has been hardly exploited. We show here that simple dicarboxylic acids are very efficient low-molar-mass organogelators (LMOG) for bitumen. Indeed, they increase the range of temperature where bitumen is a solid. Moreover, the hardness and elastic modulus of bitumen at room temperature are also improved. This concept of improving the mechanical properties of a solid with an LMOG can probably be applied to other materials.