Amino acid based low-molecular-weight tris(bis-amido) organogelators

Two new amino acid based low-molecular-mass organic gelators were designed, synthesized, and examined for their ability to gelate various organic solvents. The gelator molecules were found to aggregate via N-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonding to form an interwinding 3D network which immobilized a large number of organic solvents. Among the different organic solvents used in the gelation study mesitylene is found to be the best solvent. The microstructure of organogels was studied with FESEM and optical micrographs. The involvement of hydrogen bonding in the aggregation of the gelator molecule was studied using temperature dependent H-1 NMR. The obtained organogels were found to exhibit significant mechanical strength.