| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Materials, College of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457 China;2. Department of Chemistry, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208 USA;3. Department of Applied Chemistry, College of Chemical Engineering, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, 063210 China;4. Tianjin Changlu Advanced Materials Research Institute Co., Ltd., Tianjin, 300350 China;5. Department of Materials, College of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Department of Chemistry, College of Sciences, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457 China State Key Laboratory of Biobased Fiber Manufacturing Technology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin, 300457 P. R. China |
| Abstract: | Supramolecular hydrogels involved macrocycles have been explored widely in recent years, but it remains challenging to develop hydrogel based on solitary macrocycle with super gelation capability. Here, the construction of lantern[33]arene-based hydrogel with low critical gelation concentration (0.05 wt%), which can be used for efficient oil–water separation, is reported. The lantern[33]arenes self-assemble into hydrogen-bonded organic nanoribbons, which intertwine into entangled fibers to form hydrogel. This hydrogel which exhibits reversible pH-responsiveness characteristics can be coated on stainless-steel mesh by in situ sol-gel transformation. The resultant mesh exhibits excellent oil–water separation efficiency (>99%) and flux (>6 × 104 L m−2 h−1). This lantern[33]arene-based hydrogel not only sheds additional light on the gelation mechanisms for supramolecular hydrogels, but also extends the application of macrocycle-based hydrogels as functional interfacial materials. |
