The subject of this thesis is the application of magnetic resonance methods to the characterization and quantification of lithium-ion transport in a wide range of lithium-ion battery electrolyte materials relevant to the electromobility and energy storage sectors. In particular, field-gradient magnetic resonance techniques, in the form of PFG-NMR diffusivity measurements of both liquid- and solid-state electrolytes and in situ MRI of electrochemical cells, comprise the core means by which these characterizations were performed. PFG-NMR and ionic conductivity studies of a range of liquid-state electrolyte mixtures were performed, as a function of temperature, to assess how key mass and charge transport properties reflect differences in composition. In situ MRI was used to study the effect of temperature on steady-state concentration gradient formation in polarized liquid electrolytes, with the results quantitatively compared to model predictions. This approach was then extended, using a combination of MRI and spatially-resolved PFG-NMR, to study the interlinked effects of temperature and current density on concentration gradient formation, and to attempt a comprehensive characterization of the ion transport parameters with spatial resolution. Finally, PFG-NMR and MAS-NMR were applied in a solid-state electrolyte context to investigate compositional effects on ion transport in the argyrodite family of lithium-sulphide ion conductors, and the influence of macroscopic sample format (glass, crystalline powder, compressed crystalline pellet) on micro-scale ion transport in a thio-LISICON ion conductor. Taken together, the studies demonstrate the effectiveness of magnetic resonance methods for the robust elucidation of the means by which material properties impact ion transport in technologically-relevant lithium-ion electrolyte systems. / Dissertation / Doctor of Science (PhD) / Lithium-ion batteries are a critical component of the ongoing efforts to transition the global automobile fleet to electric vehicles and integrate renewable energy sources into the electricity grid. An important aspect of designing and optimizing lithium-ion batteries is a comprehensive understanding of the factors which impact the ability of the electrolyte in the battery to ferry the lithium ions from one electrode to the other, the process which enables them to release energy into the circuit to power a device. This thesis describes results obtained from measuring the diffusion of the ions within the electrolyte for both conventional liquid-state electrolytes, and emerging solid-state electrolyte materials. It also includes studies which make use of MRI to image the flow of ions within the liquid-state electrolyte of an operating battery mimic, and monitor the concentration changes of the ions across the electrolyte as a current is applied to it.

Fundamental understanding of water transport and morphology is critical for improving ion conductivity in polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs). Herein, we present comprehensive water transport measurements comparing anion-exchange membranes (AEMs) based on ammonium-functionalized poly(phenylene oxide) and cation-exchange membranes (CEMs) based on sulfonated poly(ether sulfone). We investigate the influence of counter ions, alkyl side chain, and degree of functionalization on water transport in AEMs and CEMs using pulsed-field-gradient (PFG) NMR diffusometry. Water diffusion in both AEMs and CEMs exhibit specific trends as a function of water uptake (wt%), indicating morphological similarities across common chemical structures. Furthermore, restricted diffusion reveals micron-scale heterogeneity of the hydrophilic network in both CEMs and AEMs. We propose a model wherein the hydrophilic network in these membranes has micron-scale distributions of local nm-scale dead ends, leading to changes in tortuosity as a function of water content, counterion type, and polymer structure. We furthermore parse tortuosity into two regimes, corresponding to nm-to-bulk and µm-to-bulk ranges, which reveal the importance of multi-scale morphological structures that influence bulk transport. This study provides new insights into polymer membrane morphology from nm to µm scales with the ultimate goal of controlling polymeric materials for enhanced fuel cells and other separations applications / MS

<p>This thesis contains two parts.</p><p>In the first part, general and versatile palladium-mediated ¹¹C-C bond forming reactions for use in the production of radiotracers for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) were explored. Two complimentarty approaches were investigated: the coupling of [¹¹C]methyl iodide with a vinyl stannane and the reaction of a [¹¹C]methylated stannane with various organohalides. The former approach resulted in an improved, fully automated method for the synthesis of the potential cell proliferation tracer 1-(2’-deoxy-2’-fluoro-β-D-arabinofuranosyl)-[<i>methyl</i>-¹¹C]- thymine. The tracer was obtained in an isolated decay-corrected radiochemical yield of 28% at 25 min after end of radionuclide production. </p><p>In the latter approach, a [¹¹C]methylated tricyclic stannane (5-[¹¹C]methyl-1-aza- 5-stannabicyclo[3.3.3]undecane) was synthesised in 47% decay-corrected radiochemical yield, starting from [¹¹C]methyl iodide. This stannane was successfully employed in palladium-mediated coupling reactions with aryl, heteroaryl and vinyl halides.</p><p>In the second part, effects of the osmolytes glycine betaine, trimethylamine <i>N</i>-oxide (TMAO) and urea on Ribonuclease A (RNase A) were investigated using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Changes in the enzymatic activity in the presence of these osmolytes at concentrations of ≤1 M were observed by monitoring the RNase A-catalysed degradation of polyuridylic acid using ³¹P NMR spectroscopy. The decrease in activity caused by urea was counteracted by both glycine betaine and TMAO at a molar ratio of 1:1.4 and 1:1, respectively.</p><p>To investigate if the observed activity changes were accompanied by any detectable alteration in the gross conformation of RNase A, diffusion coefficients for the enzyme in the various osmolyte solutions were measured using pulsed-field gradient NMR. A pulse sequence suitable for diffusion measurements in highly concentrated aqueous osmolyte solutions was developed and assessed. The diffusion of RNase A was measured relative to a new internal standard, 2,2,5,5,-tetramethyl-1,4-dioxane. No clear, detectable change in the relative diffusion of RNase A was observed in these media.</p>

This thesis contains two parts. In the first part, general and versatile palladium-mediated 11C-C bond forming reactions for use in the production of radiotracers for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) were explored. Two complimentarty approaches were investigated: the coupling of [11C]methyl iodide with a vinyl stannane and the reaction of a [11C]methylated stannane with various organohalides. The former approach resulted in an improved, fully automated method for the synthesis of the potential cell proliferation tracer 1-(2’-deoxy-2’-fluoro-β-D-arabinofuranosyl)-[methyl-11C]- thymine. The tracer was obtained in an isolated decay-corrected radiochemical yield of 28% at 25 min after end of radionuclide production. In the latter approach, a [11C]methylated tricyclic stannane (5-[11C]methyl-1-aza- 5-stannabicyclo[3.3.3]undecane) was synthesised in 47% decay-corrected radiochemical yield, starting from [11C]methyl iodide. This stannane was successfully employed in palladium-mediated coupling reactions with aryl, heteroaryl and vinyl halides. In the second part, effects of the osmolytes glycine betaine, trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and urea on Ribonuclease A (RNase A) were investigated using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Changes in the enzymatic activity in the presence of these osmolytes at concentrations of ≤1 M were observed by monitoring the RNase A-catalysed degradation of polyuridylic acid using 31P NMR spectroscopy. The decrease in activity caused by urea was counteracted by both glycine betaine and TMAO at a molar ratio of 1:1.4 and 1:1, respectively. To investigate if the observed activity changes were accompanied by any detectable alteration in the gross conformation of RNase A, diffusion coefficients for the enzyme in the various osmolyte solutions were measured using pulsed-field gradient NMR. A pulse sequence suitable for diffusion measurements in highly concentrated aqueous osmolyte solutions was developed and assessed. The diffusion of RNase A was measured relative to a new internal standard, 2,2,5,5,-tetramethyl-1,4-dioxane. No clear, detectable change in the relative diffusion of RNase A was observed in these media.

Gegenstand der Arbeit ist die PFG NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance with pulsed field gradients), wobei speziell die apparativen und experimentellen Bedingungen untersucht werden, welche sich durch die Verwendung ultra-hoher gepulster magnetischer Feldgradienten von bis zu 35T/m ergeben. Motiv für die Arbeit ist die Untersuchung von Diffusionserscheinungen in mikroporösen Wirtssystemen mit inneren magnetischen Feldgradienten oder/und kurzen T2-Relaxationzeiten. Nach Zusammenstellung der notwendigen Werkzeuge zur mathematischen Beschreibung von PFG NMR-Experimenten werden die aus der Literatur bekannten Impulssequenzen kritisch untersucht und durch eigene Weiterentwicklungen ergänzt. Für wichtige PFG NMR-Impulssequenzen wird eine verallgemeinerte Schreibweise vorgestellt und auf beliebige Formen der gepulsten magnetischen Feldgradienten ausgedehnt. Weiterhin werden Störeinflüsse auf das PFG NMR-Experiment untersucht und zunächst in allgemeiner Form Möglichkeiten zu deren Beseitigung bzw. Unterdrückung dargestellt. Die so gewonnenen Erkenntnisse fanden konkrete Anwendung bei der Konzeption und dem Bau des PFG NMR-Spektrometers Fegris 400 NT. Dieses Gerät wird, soweit es den Gegenstand der Arbeit berührt, ebenfalls beschrieben und in der Anlage dokumentiert. Abschließend sind einige Untersuchungen, die mit dem Fegris 400 NT durchgeführt wurden und in der dargestellten Form erst mit diesem Gerät möglich waren, kurz skizziert, wobei für weitergehende Informationen auf die entsprechenden Veröffentlichungen verwiesen wird.

Zeolite nucleation and growth is a complex problem that has been widely investigated but still not completely understood. However, a full understanding of this process is required in order to develop predictive models for the rational design and control of the zeolite properties. The primary objective of this dissertation is to determine the strength of organicinorganic interactions (i.e., the adsorption Gibbs energy) in transparent synthesis mixtures using PFG NMR spectroscopy, in order to provide more information for a better understanding of zeolite nucleation and growth. Three main tasks were conducted in this work. The first was an investigation of the organocation role in precursor mixtures of silicalite-1, where the Gibbs energy of the organocation adsorption on the silica particles was determined at 25 degrees C. The findings showed that small changes in the adsorption Gibbs energy resulting from the differences in the molecular structure of the organocations lead to large changes in both the stability of the precursor particles and the rate of silicalite-1 formation. The second was an in situ PFG NMR investigation of silicalite-1 synthesis mixtures, where the adsorption Gibbs energy was determined at 25 degrees C and 70 degrees C, and the time evolution of silicalite-1 was monitored at synthesis conditions. The findings showed similar adsorption Gibbs energies at 25 degrees C and 70 degrees C. Also, a maximum in the organocation diffusion coefficients was observed during the time evolution of silicalite-1, which was associated with the exothermicendothermic transition occurring during the synthesis. The third was a systematic investigation of silicalite-1 precursor mixtures with varying degrees of dilution, where the effect of the composition of the mixtures on their conductivity, pH and particle size distribution (PSD) was studied. The results showed that conductivity, pH, and PSD are strongly affected by the mixture composition. The main conclusion of this research is that the strength of the organic-inorganic interactions in transparent synthesis mixtures can be determined from experimental data of the organocation self-diffusion coefficients obtained with PFG NMR spectroscopy. The outcome information of this research should contribute to the development of a more detailed molecular-level description of the zeolite nucleation and growth, which is expected to allow the emergence of a new generation of materials by design.

L'optimisation des performances d'une pile à combustible (PEMFC) requiert la compréhension microscopique des mécanismes de transport de l'eau et du proton confinés au sein de la membrane électrolyte polymère. La membrane est un matériau nanostructuré chargé, caractérisé par une dynamique de l'eau et du proton complexe et multi-échelle étroitement corrélée à la morphologie confinante. Nous nous sommes intéressés à la relation structure - transport dans i) L'Aquivion, un ionomère perfluorosulfonique récent présentant de bonnes performances en pile, ii) des systèmes " modèles " auto-assemblés de tensioactifs perfluorés formant des phases lamellaires et hexagonales et iii) une nouvelle membrane hybride préparée par dopage en tensioactif. La nano-structuration des différents systèmes a été étudiée par diffusion de rayonnement (X et neutrons), pour caractériser l'évolution de la structure (géométrie de la matrice hôte, taille de confinement) avec l'hydratation. Ensuite, nous avons sondé la dynamique de l'eau à l'échelle moléculaire (de la picoseconde à la nanoseconde) par diffusion quasi-élastique des neutrons (QENS) et à l'échelle micrométrique par RMN à gradients de champs pulsés. La comparaison membranes commerciales / systèmes modèles permet de discuter l'impact de la connectivité, du confinement et de la géométrie sur le transport ionique. Enfin, des membranes hybrides à fort potentiel ont été obtenues par dopage du Nafion et de l'Aquivion avec des tensioactifs. Ces nouveaux matériaux ouvrent une voie prometteuse pour la préparation de membranes polymères fortement anisotropes avec des chemins de conduction préférentiellement orientés.

The effect of soot on the catalytic properties of a diesel particulate filter coated with a catalyst for the selective catalytic reduction of NOx with ammonia (SDPF) was studied by means of model-gas experiments. After loading of the SDPF with model soot from 0 to 10 g l-1, the NH3 storage as well as the catalytic DeNOx behavior of the standard SCR reaction was investigated. The model soot present in the filter was shown to have an NH3 storage capacity. The soot deposit inside the SDPF filter wall lead to a decreased NO conversion in SCR experiments of up to 20 %. The NH3 breakthrough was found to be shifted towards earlier time-on-stream during NH3 adsorption on soot loaded SDPF samples. Both effects could be attributed to a diffusive mass transport limitation of the gas species through the soot to reach at the chemically active sites inside SDPF filter wall. The self-diffusion coefficient of NH3 probe molecules within a soot layer could be measured using Pulsed Field Gradient-NMR technique. The unit collector model is capable of describing the backpressure upon soot loading with a depth filtered (inside filter wall) soot amount of 1 g l-1 and 0.36 g l-1, respectively, for both SDPF types under investigation. Based on Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) investigation a 1-D microscopic soot filter wall-model was set up. The model implies soot as diffusion barrier for mass transport. It was calibrated based on experimental observations and allows to conclude on the distribution of the soot within the filter wall. Thus, a high soot-coverage of the porous filter wall close to the inlet channel, a slightly covered middle part and a soot free zone close to the outlet explains the observed reduction in NO conversion as well as the NH3 breakthrough at earlier time-on-stream during NH3 adsorption experiments for SDPF samples loaded with soot. A modelled homogeneous soot distribution (0.6 µm soot layer on top of washcoat) within the whole SDPF was shown to result in NO conversion drop up to 45 %.

Aufgrund des großen Verhältnisses von Oberfläche zu Volumen zeigen Nanopartikel interessante, größenabhängige Eigenschaften, die man im ausgedehnten Festkörper nicht beobachtet. Sie sind daher von großem wissenschaftlichem und technologischem Interesse. Die Herstellung kleinster Partikel ist aus diesem Grund überaus wünschenswert. Dieses Ziel kann mit Hilfe von Mikroemulsionen als Templatphasen bei der Herstellung von Nanopartikeln erreicht werden. Mikroemulsionen sind thermodynamisch stabile, transparente und isotrope Mischungen von Wasser und Öl, die durch einen Emulgator stabilisiert sind. Sie können eine Vielzahl verschiedener Mikrostrukturen bilden. Die Kenntnis der einer Mikroemulsion zugrunde liegenden Struktur und Dynamik ist daher von außerordentlicher Bedeutung, um ein gewähltes System potentiell als Templatphase zur Nanopartikelherstellung einsetzen zu können.<br><br> In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden komplexe Mehrkomponentensysteme auf der Basis einer natürlich vorkommenden Sojabohnenlecithin-Mischung, eines gereinigten Lecithins und eines Sulfobetains als Emulgatoren mit Hilfe der diffusionsgewichteten 1H-NMR-Spektroskopie unter Verwendung gepulster Feldgradienten (PFG) in Abhängigkeit des Zusatzes des Polykations Poly-(diallyl-dimethyl-ammoniumchlorid) (PDADMAC) untersucht. Der zentrale Gegenstand dieser Untersuchungen war die strukturelle und dynamische Charakterisierung der verwendeten Mikroemulsionen hinsichtlich ihrer potentiellen Anwendbarkeit als Templatphasen für die Herstellung möglichst kleiner Nanopartikel.<br><br> Die konzentrations- und zeit-abhängige NMR-Diffusionsmessung stellte sich dabei als hervorragend geeignete und genaue Methode zur Untersuchung der Mikrostruktur und Dynamik in den vorliegenden Systemen heraus. Die beobachtete geschlossene Wasser-in-Öl- (W/O-) Mikrostruktur der Mikroemulsionen zeigt deutlich deren potentielle Anwendbarkeit in der Nanopartikelsynthese. Das Gesamtdiffusionsverhalten des Tensides wird durch variierende Anteile aus der Verschiebung gesamter Aggregate, der Monomerdiffusion im Medium bzw. der medium-vermittelten Oberflächendiffusion bestimmt. Dies resultierte in einigen Fällen in einer anormalen Diffusionscharakteristik. In allen Systemen liegen hydrodynamische und direkte Wechselwirkungen zwischen den Tensidaggregaten vor.<br><br> Der Zusatz von PDADMAC zu den Mikroemulsionen resultiert in einer Stabilisierung der flüssigen Grenzfläche der Tensidaggregate aufgrund der Adsorption des Polykations auf den entgegengesetzt geladenen Tensidfilm und kann potentiell zu Nanopartikeln mit kleineren Dimensionen und schmaleren Größenverteilungen führen. / Owing to their large surface-to-volume ratio nanoparticles show interesting size-dependent properties that are not observable in bulk materials. Thus, they are of great scientific and technological interest. Thereby, the highly desirable preparation of as small particles as possible might be easily achieved using microemulsions as template phases. Microemulsions are thermodynamically stable, transparent and isotropic mixtures of water and oil stabilized by an emulsifying agent. However, microemulsions may form a great variety of different microstructures. Thus, it is of utmost importance to know the underlying microstructure and microdynamics of a chosen microemulsion system in order to use it as a template phase for nanoparticle formation.<br><br> In the present study complex multi-component microemulsion systems based on a naturally occurring soybean lecithin mixture, purified lecithin and sulfobetaine as emulsifiers were investigated by diffusion-weighted pulsed field gradient (PFG) 1H NMR spectroscopy in the presence and absence of the polycation poly-(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC). The central topic of this study was to structurally and dynamically characterize the present microemulsions with respect to their potential use in nanoparticle formation.<br><br> The concentration- and time-dependent NMR diffusion measurements turned out to be a suitable and accurate tool to investigate the microstructure and microdynamics of the systems under investigation. They reveal closed water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsion microstructures which prove the potential suitability of the respective systems as template phases for the preparation of nano-sized particles. The overall diffusion behavior of surfactants were found to be governed by varying contributions from displacements of entire aggregates, monomer diffusion in the medium and bulk-mediated surface diffusion, respectively. In some cases this led to a marked anomalous diffusion characteristics. In all systems interactions between aggregates are dominated by hydrodynamic and direct forces.<br><br> The addition of PDADMAC to the microemulsion systems results in a stabilization of the liquid interface of surfactant aggregates due to the adsorption of the polycation at the oppositely charged surfactant film and may potentially lead to nanoparticles of smaller dimensions and narrower size distributions.

Les hydrogels de polysaccharide sont des biomatériaux utilisés comme matrices à libération contrôlée de médicaments et comme structures modèles pour l’étude de nombreux systèmes biologiques dont les biofilms bactériens et les mucus. Dans tous les cas, le transport de médicaments ou de nutriments à l’intérieur d’une matrice d’hydrogel joue un rôle de premier plan. Ainsi, l’étude des propriétés de transport dans les hydrogels s’avère un enjeu très important au niveau de plusieurs applications. Dans cet ouvrage, le curdlan, un polysaccharide neutre d’origine bactérienne et formé d’unités répétitives β-D-(1→3) glucose, est utilisé comme hydrogel modèle. Le curdlan a la propriété de former des thermogels de différentes conformations selon la température à laquelle une suspension aqueuse est incubée. La caractérisation in situ de la formation des hydrogels de curdlan thermoréversibles et thermo-irréversibles a tout d’abord été réalisée par spectroscopie infrarouge à transformée de Fourier (FT-IR) en mode réflexion totale atténuée à température variable. Les résultats ont permis d’optimiser les conditions de gélation, menant ainsi à la formation reproductible des hydrogels. Les caractérisations structurales des hydrogels hydratés, réalisées par imagerie FT-IR, par microscopie électronique à balayage en mode environnemental (eSEM) et par microscopie à force atomique (AFM), ont permis de visualiser les différentes morphologies susceptibles d’influencer la diffusion d’analytes dans les gels. Nos résultats montrent que les deux types d’hydrogels de curdlan ont des architectures distinctes à l’échelle microscopique. La combinaison de la spectroscopie de résonance magnétique nucléaire (RMN) à gradients pulsés et de l’imagerie RMN a permis d’étudier l’autodiffusion et la diffusion mutuelle sur un même système dans des conditions expérimentales similaires. Nous avons observé que la diffusion des molécules dans les gels est ralentie par rapport à celle mesurée en solution aqueuse. Les mesures d’autodiffusion, effectuées sur une série d’analytes de diverses tailles dans les deux types d’hydrogels de curdlan, montrent que le coefficient d’autodiffusion relatif décroit en fonction de la taille de l’analyte. De plus, nos résultats suggèrent que l’équivalence entre les coefficients d’autodiffusion et de diffusion mutuelle dans les hydrogels de curdlan thermo-irréversibles est principalement due au fait que l’environnement sondé par les analytes durant une expérience d’autodiffusion est représentatif de celui exploré durant une expérience de diffusion mutuelle. Dans de telles conditions, nos résultats montrent que la RMN à gradients pulsés peut s’avérer une approche très avantageuse afin de caractériser des systèmes à libération contrôlée de médicaments. D’autres expériences de diffusion mutuelle, menées sur une macromolécule de dextran, montrent un coefficient de diffusion mutuelle inférieur au coefficient d’autodiffusion sur un même gel de curdlan. L’écart mesuré entre les deux modes de transport est attribué au volume différent de l’environnement sondé durant les deux mesures. Les coefficients d’autodiffusion et de diffusion mutuelle similaires, mesurés dans les deux types de gels de curdlan pour les différents analytes étudiés, suggèrent une influence limitée de l’architecture microscopique de ces gels sur leurs propriétés de transport. Il est conclu que les interactions affectant la diffusion des analytes étudiés dans les hydrogels de curdlan se situent à l’échelle moléculaire. / Polysaccharide hydrogels are biomaterials used as controlled drug delivery matrices and serve as model scaffolds for the study of many biological systems like bacterial biofilms and mucus. In every case, the transport of drugs or nutriments across a hydrogel matrix is of prime importance. Therefore, the study of transport properties in hydrogels is an important issue for many fields of application. In this work, curdlan, a neutral bacterial polysaccharide made of β-D-(1→3) glucose repeating units, is used as a model hydrogel. Aqueous suspensions of curdlan can form thermogels of different conformations depending on the incubation temperature. In situ characterization of the preparation of thermo-reversible (low-set) and thermo-irreversible (high-set) curdlan hydrogels was first carried out using variable temperature attenuated total reflection (ATR) Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The results allowed optimization of the gelling conditions leading to reproducible gel samples. Structural characterization of fully hydrated hydrogels, carried out by FT-IR imaging, environmental scanning electron microscopy (eSEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), allowed visualization of the different gel morphologies susceptible of influencing the diffusion of analytes in hydrogels. Our results show that both types of curdlan hydrogels have distinct microscopic architectures. The combination of pulsed field gradient (PFG) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and NMR profiling allowed the study of self-diffusion and mutual diffusion on the same hydrogel system in similar experimental conditions. We showed that the diffusion of analytes in the gels is slower than in the aqueous solution. The diffusion experiments, carried out on a series of analytes of various sizes in both types of curdlan gels, show a decrease of the relative self-diffusion coefficient as a function of the analyte size. In addition, our results suggest that the equivalence between the self-diffusion and mutual-diffusion coefficients measured in the high-set curdlan gels is mainly due to the fact that the environment probed by the analytes during a self-diffusion experiment is representative of the one probed during a mutual-diffusion experiment. In such conditions, our results show that PFG NMR may present a valuable approach for the characterization of controlled drug release systems. Additional experiments show that the mutual-diffusion coefficient of dextran macromolecules is smaller than its self-diffusion coefficient in the same curdlan hydrogel. The difference between both transport rates is attributed to the different environment volumes probed by the analytes during the measurements. The similarities observed between the self-diffusion and mutual-diffusion coefficients, measured in both types of curdlan gels for all investigated analytes, suggest a limited influence of the microscopic gel architecture on its transport properties. It is therefore concluded that the interactions affecting the diffusion of the investigated analytes in the curdlan hydrogels lie at the molecular scale.