Gelators, compounds able to solidify solvents, and in particular hydrogelators are interesting soft materials. In this paper we have synthesized cyclotriveratrylene (CTV) platforms symmetrically end-substituted with pendent primary amines or nicotamic substituents. These non-amphiphilic structures induce self-assembly in a large variety of solvents forming robust and opaque gels. Cyclotriveratrylene gels have for the first time been formed and characterized using FT-IR and freeze fracture electron microscopy. Two hierarchical events are responsible for the gel structure. Individual fibres of 4–5 nm diameter are formed by aggregation of the functionalised CTV molecules. These fibres then further self-assemble into large ribbons several µm long and 20 to 40 nm wide. Within the ribbons the fine striations observed by FFEM are due to individual straight chains organized in a highly compacted state. Within the fibres the individual CTV molecules are held together by hydrogen bonding of the amide function as probed by infra-red spectroscopy.
凝胶剂是一类能够使溶剂固化的化合物,特别是
水凝胶剂,是有趣的软材料。在本文中,我们合成了对称末端取代有侧基的初级胺或
尼古丁取代基的环三维紫烯(CTV)平台。这些非两亲性结构在多种溶剂中诱导自组装,形成坚固而不透明的凝胶。环三维紫烯凝胶首次使用傅里叶变换红外光谱(FT-IR)和冷冻断裂电子显微镜(FF
EM)进行了表征。凝胶结构由两个层次的事件组成。直径为4–5纳米的单个纤维是通过功能化的CTV分子的聚集形成的。这些纤维进一步自组装成几微米长、20至40纳米宽的大带状结构。在带状结构内,FF
EM观察到的细条纹是由于个别直链以高度压缩的状态组织在一起。在纤维内,个别的CTV分子通过酰胺功能的氢键结合在一起,这一点通过红外光谱得到了验证。