The Key Effect Of The Self-Assembly Mechanism Of Dendritic Gelators: Solubility Parameters, Generations And Terminal Effects

The key effect of the self-assembly mechanism of dendritic gelators is researched by a comprehensive investigation of the gelation behavior of L-lysine dendritic gelators with different structures of three generations in 20 different solvents. The solvents investigation, H-1 NMR, tube inversion method, DSC, rheology, FTIR and rheological measurements show that the reported dendritic gelators self-assemble through the main driving force of hydrogen bonds and the second driving force of pi-pi stackings. So the key effect of the self-assembling mechanism is that these factors can influence the driving force of the self-assembly process. This is the reason that L-lysine dendritic gelators tend to gelate in solvents with low a and beta parameter values, which have less influence on the formation of hydrogen bonds between the gelators. Higher generations provide a much greater hydrogen bond density in the gelators, which makes them have a higher gelation ability. The benzyl terminal groups provide the second driving force of pi-pi stacking, making the Bzl-Gly-Lys gelators have much stronger gelation ability. This research reports a comprehensive insight into the precise ways in which the solubility parameters of the solvents, the gelator generation and the terminal group effects can influence the self-assembly and gelation of dendritic gelators. Gaining this type of fundamental understanding is essential if the key effect of this important class of self-assembling soft materials is to be truly understood.