The role of surfactants on ethylcellulose oleogel structure and mechanical properties

The effects of surfactant addition to ethyl-cellulose (EC) based oleogels were examined with respect to the chemical nature of the "head" and "tail" groups of the surfactant. Unique sigmoidal temperature dependent rheological behavior was observed upon surfactant addition, suggesting additional organized structure formation. Glycerol-based surfactant addition lead to greatest decrease in the sol-gel and gel-sol transition temperatures compared to sorbitan-based surfactants. This behavior can be attributed to the plasticizing nature of the small head group of glycerol compared to the larger head group of sorbitan surfactants. A significant increase in the penetration force of the gels was observed upon surfactant addition, suggesting possible surfactant-polymer interactions which stiffen the polymer network. Thermal analysis detected a reduction in both SMS and GMS crystallization peak temperature and enthalpy. In the case of GMS, two melting peaks were observed upon EC addition to the oil phase, suggesting EC/surfactant interactions. These results demonstrate the effects of surfactant head group structure on EC oleogel rheological properties.