Fluorescent gel from a self-assembling new chromophoric moiety containing azobenzene based tetraamide

Abstract

A new chromophoric low molecular weight (LMW) organic molecule, 1, was synthesized, and it forms gels in various organic solvents including toluene, o-xylene, m-xylene and p-xylene. The resultant gel phase materials exhibit enhanced and red-shifted fluorescence emission in the respective gelling solvents. This gelator molecule is self-assembled using various noncovalent interactions including hydrogen bonding, pi-pi staking and van der Waals interactions to get the gel phase materials. The molecule 1 is very weakly fluorescent in solution, but its intensity is increased by almost 40 times in their respective gelled state depending on the nature of the gelling solvents. Self-assembly of this molecule in the above-mentioned organic solvents gives an elongated nanofibrillar network that can be visualized through Field Emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).