Bis-Pyridine-Based Organogel with AIE Effect and Sensing Performance towards Hg2+

Abstract

A novel gelator (1) based on a bis-pyridine derivative was designed and synthesized, which could form stable gels in methanol, ethanol, acetonitrile, ethyl acetate, DMF/H2O (4/1, v/v) and DMSO/H2O (4/1, v/v). The self-assembly process of gelator 1 was studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), UV–vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence emission spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction and a water contact angle experiment. Gelator 1 exhibited obvious AIE behavior. On the base of its AIE, the gel of 1 could detect Hg2+, which resulted in fluorescence quenching and a gel–sol transition. 1H NMR titration experiments with Hg2+ revealed that the metal coordination interaction induced the fluorescence quenching and the breakdown of the noncovalent interaction in the gel system. This research provides a new molecular mode for designing a functional self-assembly gel system.

Dual Role of Boronic Acid Modification in Enhancing Rheological and Photophysical Properties of Supramolecular Gels

“…Supramolecular gels based on low molecular weight gelators (LMWGs) have received widespread attention owing to the easy tunability of their structure and numerous prospective applications in multidisciplinary fields including, self-healing materials, rewritable materials, wound healing, drug delivery, optoelectronics, sensing, imaging, , environmental remediation, catalysis, and renewable energy applications . The high structural tunability arises from the simple fact that a gelator based on a small molecule is easier to modify (to decorate with the desired functionality) than the polymer counterpart.…”