Polymerizable gelator, 4,4'-bis(α-methylacryloyloxy-1,3- ethyleneoxycarbonylpropionamido) diphenyl methane (BMDM) based on binary amine, was prepared and self-assembled into elongated fibers in organic solvents via non-covalent interaction. These fibers are able to aggregate further into three-dimensional networks, causing organic solvents to gelatinize. By photopolymerization of the gelled solution, the scaffoldlike structure of the gels was locked and the gels formed more stable well-ordered superstructure. The stable time of the polymerized gels is more than one year. However, the stable time of the unpolymerized molecular gels is only from several days to several weeks. The studies of polarized optical microscopy and TEM indicate the formation of spherulites undergoing aggregation of self-assembled fibers. It was found by DSC that the potential barrier (ΔH) for disassociation of spherulites formed by van der Waals interaction was 0.8 kJ·mol~(-1) (Peak 1) and the enthalpy (ΔH) of gel-sol phase transition for fiber aggregated by hydrogen bonding was 22.3 kJ·mol~(- 1) (Peak 2). For polymerized gels there is only a volume phase transition, without a gel-sol phase transition. The temperature of volume phase transition for polymerized gels is about 110 ～ 120 ℃ higher than that of the unirradiated gels. Swelling behavior of the dried polymerized gels follows Schott second-order diffusion kinetics. The degree of cross-linking is a main factor influencing the swelling behavior of the gels.

Key words: GEL, SWELLING, KINETIC STUDY, CRYSTALS, DIPHENYLMETHANE P