Kinetics of 12-Hydroxyoctadecanoic Acid SAFiN Crystallization Rationalized Using Hansen Solubility Parameters

Changes in solvent chemistry influenced kinetics of both nucleation and crystallization of 12-hydroxyoctadecenoic, as determined using differential scanning calorimetry and applying a modified Avrami model to the calorimetric data. Altering solvent properties influenced solvent-gelator compatibility, which in turn altered the chemical potential of the system at the onset of crystallization, the kinetics of gelation, and the resulting 12HOA crystal fiber length. The chemical potential at the onset of crystallization was linearly correlated to both the hydrogen-bonding Hansen solubility parameter and the solvent-gelator vectorial distance in Hansen space, R-a. Our work suggests that solvent properties can be modulated to affect the solubility of 12HOA, which in turn influences the kinetics of crystallization and the self-assembly of this organogelator into supramolecular crystalline structures. Therefore, modulation of solvent properties during organogelation can be used to control fiber length and thus engineer the physical properties of the gel.