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Supramolecular Gel Based on Crown-Ether-Appended Dynamic Covalent Macrocycles
Yan Ge1, Hanlin Gong1, Jie Shang1
1Sino-German Joint Research Lab for Space Biomaterials and Translational Technology, School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710072, P. R. China.
Macromolecular Rapid Communications
|January 24, 2019
Summary
Researchers developed a novel dynamic covalent macrocycle that self-promotes supramolecular gelation. This macrocycle, featuring a crown ether and disulfide bonds, exhibits remarkable gelation in acetonitrile and multiple stimuli-responsive behaviors.
Area of Science:
- Supramolecular Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Organic Chemistry
Background:
- Dynamic covalent chemistry enables the design of adaptive and responsive molecular systems.
- Supramolecular gels offer unique properties for advanced material applications.
- Stimuli-responsive materials are crucial for developing smart technologies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel dynamic covalent macrocycle with self-promoted supramolecular gelation.
- To investigate the stimuli-responsive properties of the resulting supramolecular gel.
- To elucidate the mechanism underlying the gelation process.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of a dithiol compound featuring a diamide alkyl linker (7 carbons) and a crown ether.
- Induction of gelation under oxidative conditions in acetonitrile.
- Characterization of the gel's stimuli-responsiveness, mechanical properties, and reversibility.
- Computational modeling to understand the gelation mechanism.
Main Results:
- A novel dynamic covalent macrocycle demonstrated remarkable self-promoted supramolecular gelation in acetonitrile.
- The gel exhibited multiple stimuli-responsive behavior attributed to crown ether and disulfide bond functionalities.
- Computational modeling indicated that peripheral diamide hydrogen bonding is key to the gelation process.
Conclusions:
- A new class of dynamic covalent macrocycles capable of self-promoted supramolecular gelation has been successfully developed.
- The synthesized macrocycle-based gel possesses tunable mechanical properties and reversibility, along with multiple stimuli-responsiveness.
- The findings provide insights into the design principles for self-assembling supramolecular materials driven by dynamic covalent interactions and hydrogen bonding.
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