Issue 9, 2020

Self-assembly and multifunctionality of peptide organogels: oil spill recovery, dye absorption and synthesis of conducting biomaterials

Abstract

The self-assembly of a series of low molecular weight gelator dipeptides containing para amino benzoic acid has been studied in mechanistic detail. All four dipeptides form phase selective, thermoreversible, rigid gels in a large range of organic solvents and fuels such as petrol, diesel, and kerosene. The mechanism of self-assembly has been dissected in detail using several experimental techniques. Self-assembly is driven mainly by aromatic and hydrophobic interactions. Hydrogen bonding groups, though present, seem to make a trivial contribution towards the self-assembly process. Phase selective gelation abilities in fuels in the presence of acidic, basic and saline conditions, together with the easy recovery of fuels from the organogels, render the peptides potential candidates for addressing oil-spill recovery. Being electron rich systems, these organogelators can absorb cationic dyes with >90% efficiency from wastewater. Finally, conducting biomaterials have been synthesized by the insertion of reduced graphene oxide into the organogels. Such small peptide based gelator molecules, being economically viable and easy to prepare, in addition to being multifunctional, are a hot area of research in the field of materials chemistry.

Graphical abstract: Self-assembly and multifunctionality of peptide organogels: oil spill recovery, dye absorption and synthesis of conducting biomaterials

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
11 dec 2019
Accepted
19 jan 2020
First published
31 jan 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Adv., 2020,10, 5220-5233

Self-assembly and multifunctionality of peptide organogels: oil spill recovery, dye absorption and synthesis of conducting biomaterials

M. Chetia, S. Debnath, S. Chowdhury and S. Chatterjee, RSC Adv., 2020, 10, 5220 DOI: 10.1039/C9RA10395C

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