Grain and domain microstructure in long chain n-alkane and n-alkanol wax crystals
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Waxes comprise a diverse set of materials from lubricants and coatings to biological materials such as the intracuticular wax layers on plant leaves that restrict water loss to inhibit dehydration. Despite the often mixed hydrocarbon chain lengths and functional groups within waxes, they show a propensity for ordering into crystalline phases, albeit with a wealth of solid solution behavior and disorder modes that determine chemical transport and mechanical properties. Here, we reveal the microscopic structure and heterogeneity of replica leaf wax models based on the dominant wax types in the Schefflera elegantissima plant, namely C31H64 and C30H61OH and their binary mixtures. We observe defined grain microstructure in C31H64 crystals and nanoscale domains of chain-ordered lamellae within these grains. Moreover, nematic phases and dynamical disorder coexist with the domains of ordered lamellae. C30H61OH exhibits more disordered chain packing with no grain structure or lamellar domains. Binary mixtures from 0-50% C30H61OH exhibit a loss of grain structure with increasing alcohol content accompanied by increasingly nematic rather than lamellar chain packing, suggesting a partial but limited solid solution behavior. Together, these results unveil the previously unseen microstructural features governing flexibility and permeability in leaf waxes and outline an approach to microstructure analysis across agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and food.
Date Issued
2024-12-18
Date Acceptance
2024-11-25
Citation
Crystal Growth and Design, 2024, 24 (24), pp.10127-10142
ISSN
1528-7483
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Start Page
10127
End Page
10142
Journal / Book Title
Crystal Growth and Design
Volume
24
Issue
24
Copyright Statement
© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society. This publication is licensed under CC-BY 4.0 .
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39713280
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Date Publish Online
2024-12-07