Color-tunable fluorescent organogels: columnar self-assembly of pyrene-containing oligo(glutamic acid)s

New fluorescent gelators containing pyrene moieties and dendritic oligopeptides have been developed. These molecules self-assemble into 1D helical columnar structures that lead to the formation of 3D fibrous random networks. The resulting gel materials show monomer emission of pyrenes because the hydrogen-bonded array of the oligopeptide moieties greatly suppresses the formation of pyrene excimers. In contrast, in the sol states green excimer emission of the pyrenes is observed because of the dissociation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds. This is the first example of the reverse-mode color switching of fluorescence for supramolecular pyrene assemblies.