Gele aus materialchemischer Sicht

Gels consist of a solid and a liquid phase interpenetrating each other. The liquid is thus immobilized. In the case of hydrogels, the liquid phase is water, and another liquid in the case of organogels. For the formation of the solid phase, natural or synthetic polymers, molecules or colloidal particles must be crosslinked by covalent bonds or non-covalent interactions. In this article, different kinds of gels and network structures are introduced by the example of selected applications.