Abstract

With the growing importance of hydrogels in scientific applications, the search for low molecular weight hydrogelators (LMWH), with simultaneous logical structural correlation is continuously increasing. In the present work, counterion variation of amino acid based amphiphiles was done to qualitatively evaluate its contribution towards hydrogelation. Further changes in the molecular skeleton of the amino acid amphiphile were done along with counterion variation to establish the importance of π–π interactions of aromatic planar ring in hydrogelation. An efficient conversion of a non-gelator to gelator molecule was achieved simply by changing the counterions to aromatic carboxylates. Role of the counterion in the mechanism of gelation process through the self-assembly of amino acid based amphiphiles has been discussed. The formation of supramolecular structures during hydrogelation was investigated by FESEM, CD, FT-IR, luminescence, 2D-NOESY and rheological studies. Interestingly, the L-tryptophan containing amphiphile hydrogelators were further utilized for synthesis of Ag nanoparticles under mild conditions without any need for high temperature, alkaline medium and external reducing agent. The nanoparticles obtained were characterized by UV-Vis, TEM, AFM and XRD experiments.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.