Abstract
Oleogelators are molecules that, when combined with edible oils can form semi-solid materials. Although many molecules have been tried as oleogelators in the last 20 years, much is still unknown. Here, the molecular structure of two possible oleogelators: triacontane (TC) and behenyl lignocerate (BL) were studied using a mathematical model for each molecule and carrying out computer simulation using the Metropolis Monte Carlo (MMC) algorithm in which the only interaction is via Lennard-Jones dispersion forces. The computer simulation explored the possibility of having either rigidly-extended molecules or twisted ones via the formation of gauche bonds. The results showed that both TL and BL molecules create a monolayer that did not include any gauche bond so that all molecules were effectively rigidly extended. The effective thickness of the monolayer was compared with experimental data and with the predictions of Peyronel et al. (in review) which assumed that the molecules were rigidly-extended. The work reported here justified that assumption. The conclusion was that the TC and BL molecules must be packed with a tilt angle in relation to the methyl group plane to match the experimental data. The angle of TC tilt was calculated to be ~27° which essentially confirms that reported by Peyronel et al. (in review).
Key Words : computer simulation, Metropolis Monte Carlo algorithm, crystalline structure, X-Ray scattering, triacontane, behenyl lignocerate, stearic acid, chain trans-gauche twisting