Supramolecular Gels in Aqueous and Polar Organic Media

5 Supramolecular Gels in Aqueous and Polar Organic Media 

The self-assembly and hence, the gel formation can be switched not only by temperature but also by the addition of either acid or base. Reproduced with permission from Ref [42], copyright 2013 WIT.KY-VCH Verlag GmbH Co. KGaA, Weinheim 

The viscous solutions observed at lower concentrations were turned into transparent hydrogels at concentrations 160 mg/mL. This clearly suggested that the zwitter-ionic moieties in the main backbone of the polymer dimerize to produce supramolecular crosslinks between the polymer chains which immobilize the solvent. 

AFM images of the functionalized and nonfimctionalized PEI, obtained by spin coating the solutions on mica surface were recorded in noncontact tapping mode. In case of PEI, only spherical aggregates of varying size on the surface (Fig. 6.20a) were 

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