Chemically Reversible Organogels via “Latent” Gelators. Aliphatic Amines with Carbon Dioxide and Their Ammonium Carbamates

Abstract

Rapid and isothermal (at room temperature) uptake of CO2 by solutions or, in some cases, organogels comprised of a primary or secondary aliphatic amine (1) and an organic liquid leads to in situ chemical transformation to the corresponding alkylammonium alkylcarbamate (2) based gels. Chemical reversibility is demonstrated by removal of CO2 from 2-based gels upon gentle heating in the presence of nitrogen. This is a general strategy for reversible self-assembly or disassembly of molecular aggregates relying on the initiation or termination of ionic interactions. The dependence of the amine structure and the nature of the liquid component on the formation and stability of the 1 and 2 organogels are examined by differential scanning calorimetry, optical microscopy, and X-ray diffraction methods. In most cases, the 2 gelators are more effective (based on the minimum gelator concentration required at room temperature, the gelation temperature, and the duration of time a gel persists without bulk phase separation) and more diverse (based on the classes of liquids gelled) than their corresponding amines. The differences are attributed to the presence of ionic interactions between molecular segments of the alkylammonium alkylcarbamates that are stronger than the hydrogen-bonding interactions available between molecules of amines. The initial stages of aggregation in the gel assemblies (i.e., changes in the degree of aggregation of sols of some 2 gelators) have been examined as a function of concentration and temperature by NMR techniques.