On the nature of crosslinks in thermoreversible gels

Summary A review is given concerning the nature of crosslinks in thermoreversible gels. In these gels the crosslinks can be formed e.g. by means of crystallisation of parts of polymer molecules, by liquid-liquid phase separation in solution and in bulk, by hydrogen bridging, by complexation of polymer chains, by helix formation, by chemical equilibrium reaction or by interactions between side-chains. One example will be given for each of these eight possibilities of crosslink formation.