Abstract
Oleic acid (OA) is a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid which undergoes a first-order phase transition when it is influenced by high pressures. The transition results in a change of molecular structure, which was investigated by means of X-ray techniques [J. Przedmojski and R.M. Siegoczyński, X-ray diffraction investigation of oleic acid under high pressure, Phase Transit. 75 (2002), pp. 373–377]. Despite a significant change in the structure, the permittivity of the acid remains barely influenced during and after the phase transition. A rise in relative permittivity has been observed due to the increasing number of molecules per volume unit within a compression cycle. However, no significant fall in the permittivity has been observed as a result of the transition which occurs in the case of edible oils. This may be caused by a strongly dimerised structure and dipole–dipole interaction in the liquid at ambient pressure.
Notes
†This paper was presented at the 6th International Conference on High Pressure Bioscience, Biotechnology (HPBB 2010), Freising (Germany), 28 August–1 September 2010.