Self-Assembly and Nanostructures in Organogels Based on a Bolaform Cholesteryl Imide Compound with Conjugated Aromatic Spacer

Materials

Ti-Feng Jiao¹  Feng-Qing Gao¹  Xi-Hai Shen¹  Qing-Rui Zhang¹  Xian-Fu Zhang²  Jing-Xin Zhou¹ 

[1]Hebei Key Laboratory of Applied Chemistry, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, China

[2] E-Mails:

[3]College of Physics and Chemistry, Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology, Qinhuangdao 066004, China

[4] E-Mail:

关键词: nanostructure;    self-assembly;    organogel;    bolaform amphiphile;    cholesteryl compound;    spacer;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ma6125893

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The self-assembly of small functional molecules into supramolecular structures is a powerful approach toward the development of new nanoscale materials and devices. As a class of self-assembled materials, low weight molecular organic gelators, organized in special nanoarchitectures through specific non-covalent interactions, has become one of the hot topics in soft matter research due to their scientific values and many potential applications. Here, a bolaform cholesteryl imide compound with conjugated aromatic spacer was designed and synthesized. The gelation behaviors in 23 solvents were investigated as efficient low-molecular-mass organic gelator. The experimental results indicated that the morphologies and assembly modes of as-formed organogels can be regulated by changing the kinds of organic solvents. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy observations revealed that the gelator molecule self-assemble into different aggregates, from wrinkle and belt to fiber with the change of solvents. Spectral studies indicated that there existed different H-bond formations between imide groups and assembly modes. Finally, some rational assembly modes in organogels were proposed and discussed. The present work may give some insight to the design and character of new organogelators and soft materials with special structures.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.