Abstract
The spatial structure of gels of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (NaCMC-gel) and carboxymethyl cellulose in the free acid form can be imaged in the transmission electron microscope (TEM). The freeze-fracturing technique is suitable for this. Experiments with test preparations (10 % aqueous glycerol solution) show that cooling rates during freeze-fixing are decisive for visualization, and that cooling rates can be improved substantially by using a cryojet. The increase of the cooling rate to more than 15 000 K/s makes it possible to obtain extremely fine network structures with a mesh width of 5–25 nm and with a filament thickness of 2–3 nm. The results obtained after jet-freezing show differences in the structure of the two gels: quasi-crystalline microaggregates in the HCMC-gel can be seen, and they cause an increased elasticity and opalescence of the aged HCMC-gels.
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