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. 2022 Aug 8;13(36):10773-10778.
doi: 10.1039/d2sc02637f. eCollection 2022 Sep 21.

Molecular nanoribbon gels

Marta Martínez-Abadía  1 , Rajeev K Dubey  1 , Mercedes Fernández  1 , Miguel Martín-Arroyo  1 , Robert Aguirresarobe  1 , Akinori Saeki  2 , Aurelio Mateo-Alonso  1   3
Affiliations

Molecular nanoribbon gels

Marta Martínez-Abadía et al. Chem Sci. .

Abstract

Herein, we show that twisted molecular nanoribbons with as many as 322 atoms in the aromatic core are efficient gelators capable of self-assembling into ordered π-gels with morphologies and sol-gel transitions that vary with the length of the nanoribbon. In addition, the nanoribbon gels show a red fluorescence and also pseudoconductivity values in the same range as current state-of-the-art π-gels.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Chemical structures of NR-13, NR-33 and NR-53. The chemical formula corresponds only to the aromatic core atoms highlighted in grey.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Different front and side views of a NR-53 model without solubilizing groups illustrating its twisted structure.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. SEM images of the xerogels, in 1-octanol, of (a) NR-13 (3% w/w), (b) NR-33 (1.3% w/w), and (c) NR-53 (1.3% w/w). TEM images of the aggregates in 1-octanol of (d) NR-13 (0.07% w/w), (e) NR-33 (0.1% w/w), and (f) NR-53 (0.1% w/w).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. X-Ray powder diffraction pattern from the xerogels obtained from the 1-octanol gels of (a) NR-13 (3.0% w/w); (b) NR-33 (1.3% w/w); and (c) NR-53 (1.3% w/w).
Fig. 5
Fig. 5. Rheological characterization. Frequency sweep test at T = 20 °C of NR-13 (3% w/w), NR-33 (1.3% w/w), and NR-53 (1.3% w/w).
Fig. 6
Fig. 6. Fluorescence spectra of a diluted solution in 1-octanol, sol state and xerogel of (a) NR-13; (b) NR-33; and (c) NR-53. Gelation test in 1-octanol, under room light (left) and UV light (right), of: (d) NR-13 (3% w/w); (e) NR-33 (1.3% w/w); and (f) NR-53 (1.3% w/w).
Fig. 7
Fig. 7. Conductivity transients of the xerogels of NR-13, NR-33 and NR-53 upon excitation at 355 nm, 9.1 × 1015 photons per cm2 per pulse.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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