Rheological analysis of the structuralisation kinetics of starch gels

Abstract

Using the method of dynamic–mechanical analysis, the structuralisation kinetics of condensed starch solutions, cooled down to the temperature of 20◦C, was investigated. A close correlation of spatial crosslinking with local processes of macromolecule associations was discovered. It was found that depending on the concentration intervals of starch solutions, equilibrium nodes of the spatial network assume the form of either single or double hexagonal structures made up of bispiral chain associates. The increase of gel crosslinking, together with the passage of time, is the result of increasing the node functionality of the spatial network.