Rheological properties of poly(ethylene glycol) solutions and gels

Abstract

By the interaction of a water–glycol solution of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) with calcium chloride dihydrate, a gel was produced. It was determined that, below a certain shear rate, this gel is a Newtonian fluid; however, above a certain shear rate, which depends on the gel viscosity, the properties of this gel are anomalous: the gel flow instantaneously completely stops. The viscosity of the gels was found to exponentially increase with increasing concentration of the cross-linking metal at constant PEG concentration. The density of the gels linearly increases with increasing concentration of the cross-linking metal at constant PEG concentration.