Themed collection Supramolecular Gels in Crystal Engineering

Welcome to this CrystEngComm themed issue entitled “Supramolecular gels in crystal engineering.”

The formation of crystal networks/patterns is subject to the kinetically favored selection in the process of crystallization.

New conceptual bridges allows the connection between metal–organic frameworks (hard) and gel-based materials (flexible).

The self-assembly of Mg²⁺ ions and N-(7-hydroxyl-4-methyl-8-coumarinyl)-alanine furnished mesoscale assembled structures as microfibres with well-aligned nanofibres or a randomly cross-linked gel network depending on the chirality of the amino acid and the pH of the solution.

A series of luminescent L-valine modified alkynyl based cyclometalated gold(III) complexes are synthesized and characterized.

Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) with no carboxylic acid in their structure readily crystallize inside the organogels formed by G2-Lys dendron and aliphatic amines. In contrast, APIs with carboxylic acid prevent both the gelation of the mixture and the crystallization of the API.

A new allene dicarboxylate ligand reacts with hydrated lead(II) acetate in DMF to yield either a crystalline 3D framework or a metallogel dependent on the reaction temperature.

We report the gelation properties of the copper(II) complexes of N-(4-pyridyl)nicotinamide (4PNA). Gelation was observed for the copper(II) complexes of 4PNA, whereas the manganese(II), iron(II), cobalt(II), nickel(II), cadmium(II) and zinc(II) complexes were not able to form metallogels.

Melamine and citrazinic acid, upon solid-state grinding, produced a two-component gelator which selectively gelates water or a mixed-solvent system having water as one of the solvents. The dried hydrogel was porous and shows adsorption and storage of molecular iodine.

AgCl, AgI and CuCl single crystals grown by the decomplexation method in agarose gels incorporate gel networks.

Hybrid hydrogels composed of the Fmoc-Tyr and Fmoc-DOPA building blocks present mechanical rigidity and redox activity.

A drastic difference in the electronic properties of the gels and xerogels derived from the co-assembly of a naphthalenetetracarboxylic dianhydride derivative and polyaniline occurs due to the water-assisted diffusion of charges.

Infra-red synchrotron radiation is used to monitor the formation of fibrillar networks as sols of simple gelators become gels.

Schematic diagram of the protocol for transporting seed crystals using a combination of high-strength hydrogel and macroseeding methods. Seeding experiments with hydrogel-grown seed crystals.

A number of Fmoc amino acids can be effective low molecular weight hydrogelators; we compare single crystal structures to fibre X-ray diffraction data.

The aggregation of a series of strained dehydrobenzoannulene derivatives with methyl ester groups is revealed.

Short-peptide supramolecular hydrogels are an interesting option to engineer protein crystals with modulated properties, which are useful not only for X-ray diffraction but also for multiple biotechnological applications.

A methanol solution of a series of simple esters exhibited a response to different alkali bases, which formed solutions, organogels and crystals, respectively, when LiOH, NaOH and KOH were separately introduced.

A reversible vesicle–tube–fibre transition was monitored in a cholesterol-based assembly with self-healing and self-correcting characteristics.

12-Hydroxystearic acid (12-HSA), a structurally simple and cost-effective low molecular weight organogelator, has been studied extensively.

The replacement of MeOH with DMSO in a DAC tartrate-based multicomponent gelator solution triggers the formation of organogels with enhanced stability and new functionalities.