화학공학소재연구정보센터
Journal of Physical Chemistry B, Vol.111, No.46, 13180-13187, 2007
Structure and properties of an exceptional low molecular weight hydrogelator
Research for low molecular weight (LMW) hydrogelators has become an area of increasing interest due to many possible new applications for such compounds. They might serve as templates for nanostructures or in biomedical applications and even in drug discovery. In this investigation, we explored the structure-gelling relations of a LMW hydrogelator that can form a hydrogel in water at room temperature. To this end, various analytical techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance, theology, X-ray scattering, birefringence, and microscopy were applied to gain better insight on the structure of the gel and to provide an explanation for this unique gelation behavior.