Issue 36, 2024

Understanding the gelation properties of the fluorophenyl glycosides of arabinoside gelators: experimental and theoretical studies

Abstract

In supramolecular gelation, fluorinated gelators are important due to the unique properties displayed by these compounds that arise out of the presence of fluorine atoms. Generally, incorporation of fluorine leads to higher mechanical strength of the gels compared to their non-fluorinated counterparts and this property is enhanced with increasing the number of fluorine atoms. Herein, we show that the incorporation of fluorine into the phenyl ring of phenyl arabinoside allows the molecule to act as a gelator, unlike the non-fluorinated compound. We also show that the mechanical strength and stiffness of the gels is not only dependent on the positions of the fluorine atoms but also guided by their number. Detailed experimental studies, supported by computational studies, allowed us to rationalize the observed supramolecular interactions and propose reasons based on the conformational preferences of these compounds that allow additional hydrogen bonds and π–π interactions which guide the self-assembly, in addition to the primary H-bonding interactions. This, in turn, affects the mechanical behavior of these gels.

Graphical abstract: Understanding the gelation properties of the fluorophenyl glycosides of arabinoside gelators: experimental and theoretical studies

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 May 2024
Accepted
11 Jul 2024
First published
11 Jul 2024

Soft Matter, 2024,20, 7111-7121

Understanding the gelation properties of the fluorophenyl glycosides of arabinoside gelators: experimental and theoretical studies

S. N. Pandey, N. P. Pathak, A. Sengupta and S. Yadav, Soft Matter, 2024, 20, 7111 DOI: 10.1039/D4SM00521J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements