Conductive Recyclable Organogel Composites

As the use of automation in industry accelerates, the development of flexible, electrically conducting materials with the requisite environmental resilience for impact‐resistant sensors, foldable electronics, and electrostatic shielding are needed; simultaneously, recyclability for these materials remains a crucial attribute. Traditional conductive stretchable materials, such as rubbers, are not recyclable, and hydrogel materials have limited applications due to water evaporation and operating temperature range. Comparatively, organogels can be formulated with enhanced tunability, matrix recyclability, and the ability to support many conductive fillers. Here, rheology, mechanical testing, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) characterize the nanoscale interactions between carbon fillers, the liquid phase, and the network matrix in hemiaminal dynamic covalent network (HDCN) organogels. HDCN chemical equilibria are shown to strongly influence macroscopic gel properties, while HDCN composites exhibit very high conductivities up to 9.95 mS cm^?1 appropriate for sensing applications, demonstrating promise as recyclable alternatives for conductive stretchable materials.     

Solvent‐Controlled Assembly of Aromatic Glutamic Dendrimers for Efficient Luminescent Color Conversion

A binary supramolecular system where self‐sorting and coassembly behavior can be switched by changing the solvent polarity is hereby reported. Glutamic dendron is separately conjugated with pyrene and naphthalimide luminophores through an alkyl spacer. The resulting structurally similar building units can self‐assemble into one‐dimensional micro/nanostructures with hexagonal and lamellar packing, respectively. Varying solvents from polar aqueous solution to nonpolar decane is evidenced to profoundly inverse the superchirality and switch self‐sorted assembly to coassembly of the two building blocks. The moisture sensitivity of the naphthalimide moiety is considered the primary driving force for the self‐sorting phenomenon in aqueous solution, resulting in inevitable hydration to repel its stacking with hydrophobic pyrene moiety. On the other hand, the naphthalimide unit can integrate segmentally with the pyrene unit in decane, greatly facilitating the nanofiber growth and supramolecular gel formation along with improved energy transfer efficiency between luminophores. As a result, the coassembly‐based thin films show efficient luminescent color conversion upon the UV light irradiation. This research presents a useful route for the fabrication of controllable solution‐processed light emitting devices from self‐assembled multicomponent systems.     

Droplets Manipulated on Photothermal Organogel Surfaces

A photoresponsive organogel surface (POS), which integrates characteristics of the photothermal property of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles and the low hysteresis feature of lubricant‐infused organogels, is shown. A photothermally induced dynamic temperature gradient can be formed rapidly at the location of near‐infrared‐light irradiation (NIR) on POS with suitable Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles content. Thus, various droplets (e.g., water, glycerol, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, and ethanol) can be transported effectively and nimbly (e.g., along desired trajectories with controllable velocity and direction, even run uphill and deliver solid particles). This work reveals a synergistic effect between the asymmetrical droplet deformation and the inside Marangoni flows, which forms a unique driving force for droplet transport with high efficiency. This finding offers insight into the design of novel responsive interface materials for droplet transportation, which would be significant for laboratory‐on‐a‐chip contexts, mass transportation, and microengines.     

Benzene physical and chemical organogels: Effect of network scaffolding on the thermodynamic behavior of entrapped solvent molecules

This paper presents a thermodynamic investigation of the benzene physical and chemical organogels, using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and intends to draw an appropriate relationship between the gel network structure and the properties. Physical gels, formed by an aluminium soap of fatty acid, and chemical gels, created by in situ cross‐linking of a siloxane copolymer are investigated. The effects of the type and quantity of the gelators and their corresponding network mesh size distribution in the gels on crystallization, melting, and their kinetics are examined. It appears that the kinetics of crystallization of the entrapped solvent is significantly affected by the quality of the gel network scaffolding and can be treated successfully by the Avrami equation of crystallization. From the melting behavior of the entrapped solvent crystallites, quantitative information about the number of solvent molecules bound per molecule of the gelator has been extracted. DSC proves to be a reliable technique to evaluate the population distribution of solvent molecules trapped in the physical and chemical organogel network scaffolding. The state of the solvent may be treated as a probe to understand the structure of the gels. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 94: 1253–1264, 2004     

Multicolor Tunable Emission from Organogels Containing Tetraphenylethene,Perylenediimide, and Spiropyran Derivatives

A dendron‐substituted tetraphenylethene low molecular weight gelator (LMWG)compound, LMWG 1, is designed and investigated. Gelation‐induced fluorescence enhancement is observed for the gel based on LMWG 1 and its fluorescence can be reversibly tuned by varying the temperature of the ensemble. The photoinduced energy‐transfer can occur between LMWG 1 and PI 2 (perylene diimide) in the gel phase, but it cannot occur in the corresponding solution. The emission color of the gel of LMWG 1 and PI 2 can be tuned from cyan, yellow, to red by varying the concentration of PI 2 . By taking advantage of the photochromic transformation of spiropyran, the emission color of the organogels based on LMWG 1 and SP 3 can be switched by alternating UV and visible‐light irradiations. The emission color can also be tuned by varying the irradiation time. In this way, organogels based on LMWG 1 with multiemission color can be achieved in the presence of SP 3 after light irradiations.     

Bioinspired Supramolecular Slippery Organogels for Controlling Pathogen Spread by Respiratory Droplets

Surface-deposited pathogens are sources for the spread of infectious diseases. Protecting public facilities with a replaceable or recyclable antifouling coating is a promising approach to control pathogen transmission. However, most antifouling coatings are less effective in preventing pathogen-contained respiratory droplets because these tiny droplets are difficult to repel, and the deposited pathogens can remain viable from hours to days. Inspired by mucus, an antimicrobial supramolecular organogel for the control of microdroplet-mediated pathogen spread is developed. The developed organogel coating harvests a couple of unique features including localized molecular control-release, readily damage healing, and persistent fouling-release properties, which are preferential for antifouling coating. Microdroplets deposited on the organogel surfaces will be spontaneously wrapped with a thin liquid layer, and will therefore be disinfected rapidly due to a mechanism of spatially enhanced release of bactericidal molecules. Furthermore, the persistent fouling-release and damage-healing properties will significantly extend the life-span of the coating, making it promising for diverse applications.     

Formation, structure, and rheological properties of ricinelaidic acid-vegetable oil organogels

Vegetable oil-based organogels were formed using ricinelaidic acid (12-hydroxy-9-trans-octadecenoic acid, REA). Gelation kinetics, gel structure, and stability were studied. Gelation occurred with as little as 0.5% (w/w) REA, depending on temperature and oil composition. Phase diagrams were constructed using canola, sesame, and DAG oils. Lower gelation tendencies were correlated with the presence of potential hydrogen-bonding moieties in the oils. REA concentration had a significant influence on gelation kinetics and gel rheology. At 5°C, the 0.5% canola oil gel behaved like a weak, viscoelastic network composed of entangled strands. Between 1.0 and 5.0% REA, solid-like, viscoelastic gels were formed. The 24-hour G′ _LVR (storage modulus in the linear viscoelastic region) was highly dependent on concentration and less so on temperature. Values for gelation time indicated a change in behavior below 2% REA and above 20°C. Polarized light microscopy revealed that the gels were formed through the interactions of long, thin, and birefringent fibers. Structural analysis using X-ray diffractometry (XRD) indicated the presence of repeating REA dimers and increasing order with concentration and gel storage time. Increases in gel opacity, birefringence, XRD scattering, and fiber clustering were observed during storage.