Fluorous 'ponytails' lead to strong gelators showing thermally induced structure evolution.

Kumari, Harshita; Armitage, Sarah E; Kline, Steven R; Damodaran, Krishna K; Kennedy, Stuart R; Atwood, Jerry L; Steed, Jonathan W · Soft Matter · 2015

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Appending perfluoroalkyl substituents to bis(urea) gelators results in significantly decreased inter-chain interactions with markedly thinner fibres and hence more cross-linked and more transparent gels with potential applications in the crystallisation of fluorinated pharmaceuticals. Gel structure has been probed by detailed SANS measurements which indicate a surprising structure evolution on thermal cycling, not seen for hydrocarbon analogues. The SANS data are complemented by the single crystal X-ray structure of one fluorinated gelator.

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