title: An efficient phase-selective gelator for aromatic solvents recovery based on a cyanostilbene amide derivative.
abstract: Two novel low molecular weight organogelators (LMOGs) 1 and 2 composed of a cholesteryl group, an amide group and various terminal cyanostilbene moieties were synthesized. They could form stable gels in p-xylene. In particular, 2 with more extended π-conjugation length showed remarkable gelation ability in many aromatic solvents, chloroform and chloroform-containing mixed solvents at a relatively low concentration. FT-IR and XRD spectra indicated that the difference between 1 and 2 in the gelation properties may result from the deviation of the intermolecular hydrogen bonding and π–π stacking as driving forces for the formation of the gels. Significantly, 2 can function as an efficient room-temperature phase-selective gelator (PSG) for potential application in the separation and recovery of various aromatic solvents from its mixture with water. Meanwhile, the gelator can be easily recovered and reused several times. Furthermore, the phase-selective gelation properties of 2 can provide a simple and feasible approach for the removal of the rhodamine B (RhB) dye from water.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Avenue, Changchun 130012, P. R. China. smjiang@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yuping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Mengyu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Hongxing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shang
authors.forename: Chunshuang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Shimei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jiang