title: Amino acid based low-molecular-weight ionogels as efficient dye-adsorbing agents and templates for the synthesis of TiO(2) nanoparticles.
abstract: The gelation of ionic liquids is attracting significant attention because of its large spectrum of applications across different disciplines. These 'green solvents' have been the solution to a number of common problems due to their eco-friendly features. To expand their applications, the gelation of ionic liquids has been achieved by using amino acid-based low-molecular-weight compounds. Variation of individual segments in the molecular skeleton of the gelators, which comprise the amino acid and the protecting groups at the N and C termini, led to an understanding of the structure-property correlation of the ionogelation process. An aromatic ring containing amino acid-based molecules protected with a phenyl or cyclohexyl group at the N terminus were efficient in the gelation of ionic liquids. In the case of aliphatic amino acids, gelation was more prominent with a phenyl group as the N-terminal protecting agent. The probable factors responsible for this supramolecular association of the gelators in ionic liquids have been studied with the help of field-emission SEM, (1)H NMR, FTIR, and luminescence studies. It is the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance that needs to be optimized for a molecule to induce gelation of the green solvents. Interestingly, to maximize the benefits from using these green solvents, these ionogels have been employed as templates for the synthesis of uniform-sized TiO(2) nanoparticles (25-30 nm). Furthermore, as a complement to their applications, ionogels serve as efficient adsorbents of both cationic and anionic dyes and were distinctly better relative to their organogel counterparts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Chemistry, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032, India.
authors.forename: Sounak
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dutta
authors.forename: Dibyendu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: Antara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dasgupta
authors.forename: Prasanta Kumar
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Das
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D004396:Coloring Agents; D005782:Gels / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D055772:Green Chemistry Technology; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D052578:Ionic Liquids; D015394:Molecular Structure; D053758:Nanoparticles; D036103:Nanotechnology; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D004396:Coloring Agents; D005782:Gels; D052578:Ionic Liquids; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014025:Titanium