https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.GT07535
Point of incipient network formation in a process forming a chemical or physical polymer network.
Notes:
- In both network-forming polymerization and the crosslinking of polymer chains, the gel point is expressed as an extent of chemical reaction (c.f., gel time).
- At the gel point a solid (network) material spanning the entire system is formed.
- The gel point is often detected using rheological methods. Different methods can give different gel points because viscosity is tending to infinity at the gel point and a unique value cannot be measured directly.
See also: gel fraction