Kinetic studies of cobalt alginate gels

Summary

Sodium alginate sol can be converted into ionotropic gels by diffusion of di/or trivalent metal ions. The kinetics of this phase transition is studied by two different methods. It is found that the rate of gel membrane formation at the earlier stages is greater than that of the further gel growth. The kinetic studies of gel formation in the presence of a mixture of Cu²⁺ ions with either Co²⁺ or Ni²⁺ ions show that the exhaust of Co²⁺ and Ni^2- ions is remarkable only at the first stage of gel formation. Meanwhile the Cu²⁺ ions continue exchanging all the time with Na²⁺ ions in the alginate sol. The activation energy of gel formation is found to range between 17–23 kJ mol⁻, indicating the diffusion control of the process.