Low-molecular-weight gelators

James et al. synthesized a new gelator by combining a boronic acid moiety with the cholesterol skeleton (cholesterylphenylboronic acid 1). It was found that saccharide complexes of 1 efficiently gelatinize several organic solvents. The gelation properties such as the sol-gel phase transition 

Boron Sensings Synthesis and Supramolecular Self-Assembly 

Edited by Meng Li, John S. Fossey, and Tony D. James 

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Kubo, W. et al.. Quasi-solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells using room temperature molten salts and a low molecular weight gelator, Chem. Commun., 374, 2002. 

Despite their solid appearance, within the gel the liquid component is mobile and is only held by capillary forces. The solid network can be either a covalent polymer or a supramolecular assembly of small molecules. The latter class of compound, termed low molecular weight gelators (LMWG) of which 14.11 14.15 are examples, is perhaps of most interest to supramolecular chemists. Perhaps the most well known gels are metal oxide based polymeric materials produced by the sol-gel process. The sol-gel process involves the hydrolysis and polycondensation of monomeric metal salts such as early transition... 

GELATION OF IONIC LIQUIDS BY LOW MOLECULAR WEIGHT GELATORS... 

Low molecular weight gelators (e.g., fatty acids and n-alkanes) °... 

Hanabusa, K. Hiratsuka. K. Kimura. M. Shirai. H. Easy preparation and useful character of organogel electrolytes based on low molecular weight gelator. Chem. Mater. 8999, 11, 649-655. 

Fig. 2 Dendritic molecules can act as gelators using the full range of gelation mechanisms—from low molecular weight gelators through associative polymer-type gels to covalently crosslinked gels...

In terms of applications, it is expected that dendritic gels will have similar applications to other low molecular weight gelators. However, the branched framework of dendritic building blocks also offers a number of inherent advantages which may be of special interest. The following points offer some speculation about directions in which applications of dendritic gelators may develop in the future ... 

Supramolecular gels can be described as the self-assembly of small molecules, termed low-molecular-weight gelators (LMWGs), to form extended fibres that... 

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