Binder driven self-assembly of metal-organic cubes towards functional hydrogels.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30181557.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-05818-w and PMC identifier 6123422.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The process of assembling astutely designed, well-defined metal-organic cube (MOC) into hydrogel by using a suitable molecular binder is a promising method for preparing processable functional soft materials. Here, we demonstrate charge-assisted H-bonding driven hydrogel formation from Ga<sup>3+</sup>-based anionic MOC ((Ga<sub>8</sub>(ImDC)<sub>12</sub>)<sup>12-</sup>) and molecular binders, like, ammonium ion (NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>), N-(2-aminoethyl)-1,3-propanediamine, guanidine hydrochloride and β-alanine. The morphology of the resulting hydrogel depends upon the size, shape and geometry of the molecular binder. Hydrogel with NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> shows nanotubular morphology with negative surface charge and is used for gel-chromatographic separation of cationic species from anionic counterparts. Furthermore, a photo-responsive luminescent hydrogel is prepared using a cationic tetraphenylethene-based molecular binder (DATPE), which is employed as a light harvesting antenna for tuning emission colour including pure white light. This photo-responsive hydrogel is utilized for writing and preparing flexible light-emitting display.