syneresis

Spontaneous shrinking of a gel with exudation of liquid.
Note:
Bond formation or attraction between particles or network chains within a gel induces the contraction and thereby the exudation of liquid from the network.
Source:
PAC, 2007, 79, 1801 (Definitions of terms relating to the structure and processing of sols, gels, networks, and inorganic-organic hybrid materials (IUPAC Recommendations 2007)) on page 1826