Low‐molecular‐weight organogelators as functional materials for oil spill remediation

Oil spills from tankers are one of the major types of man‐made disasters that impact the marine environment, and they have been shown to have long‐lasting effects. On prevention of the spread of oil through rapid cleanup of spills, low‐molecular‐weight organogelators have received much attention because of their ability to tune their properties through rational design. In this mini‐review, I present a brief summary of studies focused on the remediation of oil spills via a chemical method, which involves the use of low‐molecular‐weight organogelators that form organogels with fuel oils or organic solvents. Moreover, recent attempts to create new improved molecular organogels composed of commercially available simple organogelators via a mixing induced enhancement method for solidifying oil are also discussed. In addition, polymer organogelators for oil spills are discussed in relation to low‐molecular weight gelators. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dipeptide-based low-molecular-weight efficient organogelators and their application in water purification

The development of new low-molecular-weight gelators for organic solvents is motivated by several potential applications of gels as advanced functional materials. In the present study, we developed simple dipeptide-based organogelators with a minimum gelation concentration (MGC) of 6-0.15 %, w/v in aromatic solvents. The organogelators were synthesized using different L-amino acids with nonpolar aliphatic/aromatic residues and by varying alkyl-chain length (C-12 to C-16). The self-aggregation behavior of these thermoreversible organogels was investigated through several spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. A balanced participation of the hydrogen bonding and van der Waals interactions is crucial for efficient organogelation, which can be largely modulated by the structural modification at the hydrogen-bonding unit as well as by varying the alkyl-chain length in both sides of the hydrophilic residue. Interestingly, these organogelators could selectively gelate aromatic solvents from their mixtures with water. Furthermore, the xerogels prepared from the organogels showed a striking property of adsorbing dyes such as crystal violet, rhodamine 6G from water. This dye-adsorption ability of gelators can be utilized in water purification by removing toxic dyes from wastewater.     

Versatile supramolecular gelators that can harden water, organic solvents and ionic liquids

We developed novel supramolecular gelators with simple molecular structures that could harden a broad range of solvents: aqueous solutions of a wide pH range, organic solvents, edible oil, biodiesel, and ionic liquids at gelation concentrations of 0.1-2 wt %. The supramolecular gelators were composed of a long hydrophobic tail, amino acids and gluconic acid, which were prepared by liquid-phase synthesis. Among seven types of the gelators synthesized, the gelators containing L-Val, L-Leu, and L-Ile exhibited high gelation ability to various solvents. These gelators were soluble in aqueous and organic solvents, and also in ionic liquids at high temperature. The gelation of these solvents was thermally reversible. The microscopic observations (TEM, SEM, and CLSM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements suggested that the gelator molecules self-assembled to form entangled nanofibers in a large variety of solvents, resulting in the gelation of these solvents. Molecular mechanics and density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated the possible molecular packing of the gelator in the nanofibers. Interestingly, the gelation of an ionic liquid by our gelator did not affect the ionic conductivity of the ionic liquid, which would provide an advantage to electrochemical applications.     

Pyridine-containing versatile gelators for post-modification of gel tissues toward construction of novel porphyrin nanotubes

Low molecular weight gelators have recently been used as a template to construct novel kind of composite materials of different shape or structures such as helix, fibers, tape or tube through the electrostatic interaction between gelators and the intermediate molecules. In this article, we intricately apply the non-electrostatic interaction between gelator and fluorescent molecules to fabricate the gel fibers. To achieve our goal, we have intentionally designed pyridine containing cholesterol-based gelators 1-3 by keeping one thing in our mind that during the formation of the stacking column the pyridine moieties will be arranged like a spiral staircase around the cholesterol column. The gelation properties of these three gelators are tested in different solvents including sublimable solvents like naphthalene and the gelator 1 has emerged as a ‘supergelator’. The morphologies strongly depend on the process of solvent removal from the gel state and the stabilities of gel have been tuned by the added metal ions like Ag(I) by using metal-ligand interaction. Lastly, we have decorated the gel fibers obtained from gelator 1 with fluorescent molecules like tetraphenyl porphyrin Zn(II) [4·H and 4·Zn] having photopolymerizable unit at the end of tether groups and the modified fibers are well characterized by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy as well as transmission electron microscopy. This is a novel example of decoration of gel fibers with fluorescent molecules and the process will offer an alternate application in photochemical and electrochemical devices.     

Hybrid Gels Assembled from Fmoc–Amino Acid and Graphene Oxide with Controllable Properties

A supramolecular gel is obtained from the self‐assembly of an ultralow‐molecular‐weight gelator (N‐fluorenyl‐9‐methoxycarbonyl glutamic acid) in good and poor solvents. The gelators can self‐assemble into a lamellar structure, which can further form twisted fibers and nanotubes in the gel phase. Rheological studies show that the gels are robust and rigid, and are able to rapidly self‐recover to a gel after being destroyed by shear force. Fluorescence experiments reveal the aggregation‐induced emission effects of the gel system; the fluorescence intensity is significantly enhanced by gel formation. Graphene oxide (GO) is introduced into the system efficiently to give a hybrid material, and the interaction between gelators–GO sheets is studied. Rheological and fluorescent studies imply that the mechanical properties and the fluorescent emission of the hybrid materials can be fine‐tuned by controlling the addition of GO.     

Self‐Assembly of π‐Conjugated Gelators into Emissive Chiral Nanotubes: Emission Enhancement and Chiral Detection

A series of new π‐conjugated gelators that contain various aromatic rings (phenyl, naphthyl, 9‐anthryl) and amphiphilic L ‐glutamide was designed, and their gel formation in organic solvents and self‐assembled nanostructures was investigated. The gelators showed good gelation ability in various organic solvents that ranged from polar to nonpolar. Those gelator molecules with small rings such as phenyl and naphthyl self‐assembled into nanotube structures in most organic solvents and showed strong blue emission. However, the 9‐anthryl derivative formed only a nanofiber structure in any organic solvent, probably owing to the larger steric hindrance. All of these gels showed enhanced fluorescence in organogels. Furthermore, during the gel formation, the chirality at the L ‐glutamide moiety was transferred to the nanostructures, thus leading to the formation of chiral nanotubes. One of the nanotubes showed chiral recognition toward the chiral amines.     

不同功能基团的有机盐作为低相对分子质量凝胶因子对原油的成胶性能

低相对分子质量凝胶作为治理原油泄漏的材料具有一些优异的性能,但其在水油相中的成胶规律仍不明确,本文以有机酸及有机胺为原料设计合成了一系列有机盐。 通过核磁共振波谱仪(NMR)、傅里叶红外光谱仪(FTIR)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和倒挂实验等技术手段表征了有机盐的结构和成胶性能。 结果表明,有机盐A3C3(A3:肉桂酸;C3:月桂胺)在室温下能使原油形成稳定凝胶,成胶溶度为质量分数6%,该分子在溶剂中自组装形成树枝状三维网状结构。 凝胶的形成需要分子间π-π堆积作用、氢键、静电作用和范德华力等多种作用力协同作用,分子间的π-π堆积作用有利于凝胶的形成,含有多个苯环的凝胶因子更易在芳香族溶剂中形成凝胶。 这些成胶规律对处理原油泄漏的低相对分子质量凝胶因子的设计合成具有实际的指导意义。     

A novel class of organo- (hydro-) gelators based on ascorbic acid

A library of novel, lipid-modified derivatives of ascorbic acid was shown to exhibit highly attractive properties as surfactants, emulsifiers, oil soluble antioxidants, and highly effective gelators in organic solvents and especially water. In these systems, intermolecular hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces act synergistically to induce gelation as confirmed by spectroscopic studies. The morphology of the formed gel has been characterized by scanning electron microscopy.     

Supramolecular hydrogels and organogels based on novel l-valine and l-isoleucine amphiphiles

New low-molecular-weight gelators based on l-valine and l-isoleucine gelators, which have a positively charged terminal group, can gel not only pure water and aqueous solutions containing inorganic acids and salts but also some organic solvents and oils.     

Combinatorial library of low molecular-weight organo- and hydrogelators based on glycosylated amino acid derivatives by solid-phase synthesis

A combinatorial approach for the synthesis of supramolecular gelators as new organic materials is described herein. In the course of the development of a convenient and flexible solid-phase synthesis of the artificial glycolipids, some of these compounds were accidentally found to act as low molecular-weight gelators toward organic solvents. Using this combinatorial solid-phase synthesis of glycosylated amino acetates, screening and optimization of low molecular-weight organo/hydro-gelators were efficiently carried out. We found that an N-acetyl-galactosamine-appended amino acid ester (GalNAc-aa) efficiently gelates a broad spectrum of organic solvents. More interestingly, some GalNAc-aa derivatives displayed an excellent hydrogelation capability. Transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and FT-IR were used for characterization of the gel structure. It is indicated that supramolecular fibers supported by strong hydrogen-bonding networks are entangled so that the resulting spaces can immobilize a number of solvent molecules effectively. In addition, the supramolecular hydrogel consisting of GalNAc-suc-glu(O-methyl-cyc-pentyl)(2) is stable even under high salt concentrations probably due to its nonionic character and as a result, a native protein is successfully entrapped in the gel matrix without denaturation.     

含顺反异构双胆固醇型小分子胶凝剂的合成与胶凝行为

以甘氨酸为连接臂,以顺反丁烯二酸为功能基团设计合成了两种具有不同立体异构连接臂的A(LS)2型双胆固醇类小分子胶凝剂MA-C和FA-C. 考察了MA-C和FA-C对30种常见有机溶剂中的胶凝能力. 结果表明：MA-C和FA-C的胶凝能力及其所形成凝胶的性质依赖于胶凝剂分子的立体异构. 值得一提的是,MA-C能使CCl4室温胶凝,而且所形成凝胶具有良好的热稳定性和显著的剪切触变性. 更为有趣的是,此胶凝剂还能在水/CCl4混合体系中选择胶凝有机相. 显微分析表明,凝胶中胶凝剂的聚集体形貌不仅依赖于胶凝剂分子的立体异构,胶凝剂的浓度,而且也和胶凝剂分子与溶剂分子间的相互作用有关. 变温、变浓度1H NMR研究表明胶凝剂分子间的π-π堆积和氢键作用是凝胶形成的重要驱动力. 此外,根据XRD和其它实验结果提出了MA-C在CCl4中的可能堆积模型.     

Highly temperature responsive core-shell magnetic particles: synthesis, characterization and colloidal properties

Three new dimeric cholesterol-based compounds of A(LS)(2) type, where A stands for aromatic component, S steroid moiety, and L a linker connecting the two units, have been designed and prepared. Gelation test in 30 solvents demonstrated that the compounds can gel some of the solvents and form 37 gels, of which 16 form spontaneously at room temperature (~25 °C). These gels possess smart thixotropic properties as revealed by rheological studies. FTIR and (1)H NMR measurements revealed that hydrogen bonding is an important driving force for the formation of the gel networks. XRD analysis demonstrated that unlike commonly found layered structures adopted by dimeric cholesterol-based low-molecular mass gelators (LMMGs), one of the gelators created in this study adopts a hexagonal packing structure in its benzene gel.     

Design, synthesis and stimuli responsive gelation of novel stigmasterol-amino acid conjugates

An efficient synthesis of three novel stigmasterol-amino acid (glycine, L-leucine and L-phenylalanine) conjugates as stimuli responsive gelators is reported. The gelation properties of the prepared compounds were investigated in a variety of organic as well as aqueous solvents. The most striking finding of our investigation was that the hydrochloride salts of the prepared conjugates acted as gelators, whereas the neutral conjugates were either non-gelators or formed only a weak gel in anisole. The hydrochloride salts of stigmasteryl glycinate and L-leucinate form gels in n-alcohols (n=4-10) and in ethane-1,2-diol, and that of stigmasteryl L-phenylalaninate forms gels in aromatic solvents and in tetrachloromethane. These unique properties of the gelators were explored to prepare stimuli responsive, "acid-base" triggered reversible sol-gel transitions. The gelators and their gels were characterized by liquid and solid-state NMR as well as FT-IR. The morphology of their corresponding xerogels was investigated by SEM.     

The remarkable role of hydrogen bond,halogen, and solvent effect on self-healing supramolecular gel

Self-healing supramolecular gels of low-molecular-weight (LMW) molecules are smart soft materials; however, the development of self-healing LMW gelator is still a challenging task because of the lack of in-depth studies about self-healing mechanisms of LMW gels and the solvent effect on gel properties. Therefore, herein a different perspective was used to study a family of D-gluconic acetal-based gelators with variable structural fragments in 14 different solvents, and a more detailed understanding of self-assembly and self-healing mechanism of supramolecular gels was attained. Based on the critical gelation concentration, phase transition temperature, and rheological data, A8 bearing an amide group in side chain and two chlorine atoms linked to benzene ring was found to be an outstanding gelator, which could form gels with good self-healing ability in a variety of solvents. Interestingly, A8 gel formed in n-BuOH demonstrates high transparency, good mechanical strength, self-supporting behavior, and great self-healing ability from mechanical damage. Based on the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and theoretical calculation analysis, the self-assembly and self-healing mechanisms of A8 gel were proposed, indicating that a combination of hydrogen bonding and halogen effect was responsible for the efficient self-healing behavior of supramolecular gel. Furthermore, the analysis of solvent parameters indicated that the dispersion force of solvent favored gelators to self-assemble, hydrogen bonding donor ability of solvent mainly affected the formation of one-dimensional assembly, and hydrogen bonding receptor ability and polarity of solvent mainly influenced the supramolecular interactions among assemblies, significantly intervening the self-healing ability of gels. Overall, this study provides a new perspective to the understanding of gelator structure–property correlation in solvents and sheds light for future development of self-healing supramolecular gels.     

具有选择性胶凝能力的小分子胶凝剂研究进展

不相溶混合溶剂的选择性胶凝对于溶剂纯化和分离,特别是溢油处理和水体净化具有十分重要的意义。 具有选择性胶凝能力的胶凝剂可以是高分子、微纳米颗粒和小分子胶凝剂。 然而,相对于高分子和微纳米颗粒材料,以小分子化合物为胶凝剂的凝胶往往具有凝胶 溶胶相变可逆性,这种可逆性无疑会对凝胶体系的实际应用带来额外的好处。 基于这些考虑,本文按照胶凝剂分子的结构,分类介绍此类小分子胶凝剂研究进展,并展望了相关研究的前景和可能应用。     

Pyrene‐Based Fluorescent Ambidextrous Gelators: Scaffolds for Mechanically Robust SWNT–Gel Nanocomposites

With the rapid progress in the development of supramolecular soft materials, examples of low‐molecular‐weight gelators (LMWGs) with the ability to immobilise both water and organic solvents by the same structural scaffold are very limited. In this paper, we report the development of pyrene‐containing peptide‐based ambidextrous gelators (AGs) with the ability to efficiently gelate both organic and aqueous solvents. The organo‐ and hydrogelation efficiencies of these gelators are in the range 0.7–1.1 % w/v in various organic solvents and 0.5–5 % w/v in water at certain acidic pH values (pH 2.0–4.0). Moreover, for the first time, AGs have been utilised to prepare single‐walled carbon‐nanotube (SWNT)‐included soft nanocomposites in both hydro‐ and organogel matrices. The influence of different non‐covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic, π–π and van der Waals interactions in self‐assembled gelation has been studied in detail by circular dichroism, FTIR, variable‐temperature NMR, 2D NOESY and luminescence spectroscopy. Interestingly, the presence of the pyrene moiety in the structure rendered these AGs intrinsically fluorescent, which was quenched upon successful integration of the SWNTs within the gel. The prepared hydro‐ and organogels along with their SWNT‐integrated nanocomposites are thermoreversible in nature. The supramolecular morphologies of the dried gels and SWNT–gel nanocomposites have been studied by transmission electron microscopy, fluorescence microscopy and polarising optical microscopy, which confirmed the presence of three‐dimensional self‐assembled fibrillar networks (SAFINs) as well as the integrated SWNTs. Importantly, rheological studies revealed that the inclusion of SWNTs within the ambidextrous gels improved the mechanical rigidity of the resulting soft nanocomposites up to 3.8‐fold relative to the native gels.     

Triazolyl‐Based Molecular Gels as Ligands for Autocatalytic ‘Click’ Reactions

The catalytic performance of triazolyl‐based molecular gels was investigated in the Huisgen 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition of alkynes and azides. Low‐molecular‐weight gelators derived from l ‐valine were synthesized and functionalized with a triazole fragment. The resultant compounds formed gels either with or without copper, in a variety of solvents of different polarity. The gelators coordinated Cu^I and exhibited a high catalytic activity in the gel phase for the model reaction between phenylacetylene and benzylazide. Additionally, the gels were able to participate in autocatalytic synthesis and the influence of small structural changes on their performance was observed.     

New gelators of urea-containing triazine derivatives: effects of aggregation and optical features in different organic solvents

New gelators for urea-containing triazine derivatives were synthesised, and their gelation potential was examined using different organic solvents. These compounds were found to form the organogels with a variety of organic solvents, such as hexane and other solvents. The elongated alkyl tails of the gelators displayed an obvious decrease in the critical gelation concentrations of apolar solvents and an increase in the compatibility of gelation in polar solvents. The resulting thermo-reversible gels were characterised by using the dropping ball method and a number of other instruments. The melting temperature (Tm) of the gels in decalin and CCl₄ increased with the gelator concentrations. The intermolecular hydrogen bonding of gelation in different organic solvents was observed using an FT-IR spectrometer. Temperature-dependent UV–vis and fluorescence analysis showed that the organogels displayed diverse aggregations and various fluorescence effects in different organic solvents. Blue fluorescence and J-aggregation in decalin and the quenched effect and π–π stacking in CCl₄ were observed. Further, the morphological self-assembled feature in different organic solvents was studied with a scanning electron microscope, and the morphological features demonstrated that there were different aggregations in different solvents. In conductivity electrolyte experiments, the organogel electrolytes exhibited high conductivity (σ) compared with the corresponding tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAP)/THF solution. The conductivity of the gel electrolytes increased with the concentration of the electrolyte salts and temperature. When the sol–gel temperature was achieved, a high ion conductivity was observed compared with the corresponding TBAP/THF solution. When the ratio of the added electrolyte salts exceeded 5%, gelation was inhibited. Furthermore, the effect of the electrolyte salts on the Tm of the gel was confirmed. The added electrolyte salts affected the gelation ability, but did not affect the sol–gel temperature.     

A Library of Multipurpose Supramolecular Supergelators: Fabrication of Structured Silica,Porous Plastics,and Fluorescent Gels

Supramolecular gels find applications in various fields. Usually, a specific gelator is useful only for a specific application. This one‐gelator‐one‐application format is one factor that limits the usefulness of supramolecular gels. We report the synthesis of a library of gelators from a common core by using a click‐chemistry approach. Thus, the click reaction of β‐azido‐4,6‐O‐benzylidene–galactopyranoside ( 1 ) with various alkynes gave 11 different gelators having varying gelation abilities. Whereas gelators having alkyl‐chain substituents congealed alkanes and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), the gelators having aromatic substituents congealed aromatic solvents. We exploited this difference in gelling behavior in the templated synthesis of silica rods and porous plastics. The styrene gel of gelator 2 j was polymerized, and the gelator was removed by washing to obtain porous polystyrene. The TEOS gel of gelator 2 b was polymerized to silica, and the gelator template was removed by calcination to give microstructured silica rods. We also developed fluorescent gelator 2 f by this method, which might find applications by virtue of its fluorescence in the assembled state.     

基于含POSS-dendrimer超强液晶凝胶的柔性可拉伸液晶光散射显示器

利用凝胶因子自组装可赋予凝胶网络形状、强度等的特性,设计制备了多面体齐聚倍半硅氧烷(POSS)核有机无机杂化dendrimer(POSS-G1-BOC)凝胶因子并将其引入到液晶客体分子中,获得了兼具力学性能与响应特性的超分子液晶凝胶.在系统研究该液晶凝胶的凝胶行为、响应特性、表面形貌、组装机理及力学性质的基础之上,制备了基于透明柔性可拉伸导电薄膜(PU/Ag NWs)的三明治结构液晶光散射显示器件.该器件在低电压(10 V,DC)驱动下即可实现较高对比度的显示效果,不仅可以在弯曲至曲率为0.14 cm-1的条件下使用,而且在拉伸至原始长度的120%时,仍可保持自身的电控响应特性,有望将其广泛应用于可穿戴设备、智能响应性材料等领域.