title: Catalytic control over supramolecular gel formation.
abstract: Low-molecular-weight gels show great potential for application in fields ranging from the petrochemical industry to healthcare and tissue engineering. These supramolecular gels are often metastable materials, which implies that their properties are, at least partially, kinetically controlled. Here we show how the mechanical properties and structure of these materials can be controlled directly by catalytic action. We show how in situ catalysis of the formation of gelator molecules can be used to accelerate the formation of supramolecular hydrogels, which drastically enhances their resulting mechanical properties. Using acid or nucleophilic aniline catalysis, it is possible to make supramolecular hydrogels with tunable gel-strength in a matter of minutes, under ambient conditions, starting from simple soluble building blocks. By changing the rate of formation of the gelator molecules using a catalyst, the overall rate of gelation and the resulting gel morphology are affected, which provides access to metastable gel states with improved mechanical strength and appearance despite an identical gelator composition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 136, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Job
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boekhoven
authors.forename: Jos M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Poolman
authors.forename: Chandan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maity
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van der Mee
authors.forename: Christophe B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Minkenberg
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mendes
authors.forename: Jan H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: van Esch
authors.forename: Rienk
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Eelkema