Revisiting pure component wax esters as basis of wax-based oleogels

Current research on wax-based oleogels indicates wax esters to be the key component in many natural waxes. This necessitates understanding the properties of pure wax esters to unravel the gelling mechanism in wax-based oleogels. Therefore, wax esters with different carbon numbers and symmetries were studied and characterized regarding their thermal (DSC) and viscoelastic (oscillatory rheology) behavior. Pure wax esters and binary mixtures of wax esters were studied as such and in oleogels formed in combination with medium chained triglyceride oil at WE-inclusion levels of 10 % (w/w). Interpretation of the observations was based on detailed analysis of pre-existing data on crystallographic (SAXS) and thermal properties. It is found that all observations concerning single pure WE’s obey a systematic framework linking molecular make up, crystal structure and behavior. The study on the gelling of four different binary mixtures of wax esters revealed that substantial chain length differences do have the expected consequence of separate crystallization. Mixtures of wax esters with only limited chain length difference reconfirmed earlier speculations on mixing and crystal structure. Applying mixtures of wax esters only differing in their position of the ester bond indicated ideal mixing behavior in the solid phase of the gels. Actually, the data revealed that despite these expected observations in both systems, additional thermal events occur at specific mixing ratios. Their supposed relation to compound formation certainly needs further confirmation. Rheological analysis confirmed that sequential crystallization results in highest firmness values for the systems studied.