Abstract
The mechanical strength of supramolecular gels is usually low compared to that of cross-linked polymer gels, which sometimes limits practical applications of supramolecular gels. We report here photoinduced reinforcement of supramolecular gel structures using photodimerization of coumarin moieties introduced on a trans-(1R,2R)-1,2-cyclohexanediamine-based gelator. UV irradiation (λ > 300 nm) of toluene gels containing mixtures of trans-(1R,2R)-1,2-cyclohexanediamine-based gelators with and without coumarin moieties induced an enhancement in both the thermal and mechanical stabilities of the gels.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Professor Masamichi Yamanaka at Shizuoka University for the rheology measurements and his helpful discussions. We are also grateful to A Rabbit Science Japan Co., Ltd. for the elemental analysis. This work was financially supported by a Chubu University Grant (A).
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Yabuuchi, K., Matsuo, N., Maeda, H. et al. Photoinduced reinforcement of supramolecular gels based on a coumarin-containing gelator. Polym J 50, 1093–1097 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-018-0090-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-018-0090-2
