Chemists discovered the opposite effect: How dilution with water makes solutions hard
Graphical representation of phase transitions. Credit: Koen Pieterse In Science TU/e researchers have published their study of new phase transitions of solutions and gels in water, which seem to contradict the basic principles of chemistry, and which they discovered by accident. In chemistry, hydrogels turn into liquids by diluting them with water. For the reverse transition, you increase the hydrogel concentration. However, TU/e researchers led by Bert Meijer accidentally discovered that their liquid solution turned into a hydrogel when diluted. This phenomenon has never been studied or described before and can have consequences in many fields in chemistry and biology. This study focuses on the formation of certain hydrogels. This means that it starts with an aqueous solution of, in this case, two substances (a surfactant and a monomer). Research shows that gels form at a certain ratio of these two substances in water. This gel