The Design of Molecular Gelators
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Published:05 Nov 2013
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Series: Soft Matter Series
N. Zweep and J. H. van Esch, in Functional Molecular Gels, ed. B. Escuder and J. F. Miravet, The Royal Society of Chemistry, 2013, pp. 1-29.
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A central paradigm in supramolecular chemistry is that one can design supramolecular devices and materials with a desired function, by programming the assembly properties of their molecular building blocks via molecular shape and intermolecular interactions. Therefore, over and over the question arose whether it would also be possible to design new supramolecular gels with tailor-made properties, by following guidelines and principles of supramolecular chemistry. In this chapter we discuss the principles, prospects, and limitations of the various approaches towards the design of supramolecular gels: (i) property-based design, (ii) library and selection approaches for the discovery of new gelators, (iii) structure-based design, and (iv) gelator scaffolds as starting point for functional gelators.