Planar sucrose substrates for investigating interfaces found in molten chocolate

DOI: 10.1016/j.foostr.2019.100128

Authors: Iva Manasi (University of Edinburgh) , Tom Arnold (European Spallation Source ERIC) , Joshaniel F. K. Cooper (ISIS Neutron and Muon Source) , Isabella Van Damme (Mars Chocolate UK Ltd) , Chuchuan Dong (ISIS Neutron and Muon Source) , Thomas Saerbeck (Institut Laue-Langevin) , Gavin B. G. Stenning (ISIS Neutron and Muon Source) , James Tellam (ISIS Neutron and Muon Source) , Simon Titmuss (University of Edinburgh)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Food Structure , VOL 22

State: Published (Approved)
Published: October 2019
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 15202

Abstract: We present planar substrates suitable for investigating the sucrose/triglyceride fat interfaces found in molten chocolate with surface science techniques. The planar sucrose substrates are produced by spin coating sucrose onto hydrophilic, silicon oxide-capped, silicon substrates from millimolar aqueous solutions of sucrose. We present the characterisation of the sucrose film thicknesses and crystallinity using X-ray reflectivity and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, respectively. These sucrose-coated substrates can be used in flow cells for quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and neutron/X-ray reflectivity measurements, through which triglyceride oils containing the surfactants commonly used in chocolate manufacture can be flowed. This provides a well-defined, planar, sucrose/triglyceride interface, which can be used to probe the solid/liquid interfaces that are found in molten chocolate at the molecular level.

Journal Keywords: Chocolate; Sucrose; Spin coating; Triglyceride; Neutron reflectivity; X-ray reflectivity

Subject Areas: Food Science, Physics


Instruments: I07-Surface & interface diffraction