Non-invasive and continuous monitoring of the sol–gel phase transition of supramolecular gels using a fast (open-ended coaxial) microwave sensor

Abstract

An open coaxial re-entrant microwave sensor has been used for the non-invasive and continuous monitoring of the sol–gel transition of physical gels characterized by different gelation mechanisms, solvents, compositions, and stabilities. Comparison of measurements by differential scanning calorimetry allowed the identification of the phase transition by a change in the dielectric properties of the material over time.