Premium
Pyrene‐based fluorescent supramolecular hydrogel: scaffold for nanoparticle synthesis
Author(s) -
Kar Tanmoy,
Patra Nitai
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of physical organic chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.325
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1099-1395
pISSN - 0894-3230
DOI - 10.1002/poc.4026
Subject(s) - chemistry , pyrene , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , supramolecular chemistry , fluorescence , hydrogen bond , moiety , fluorescence spectroscopy , van der waals force , nanoparticle , high resolution transmission electron microscopy , stacking , photochemistry , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , transmission electron microscopy , organic chemistry , molecule , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Abstract The present work illustrates the design and development of pyrene‐based fluorescent supramolecular hydrogel consisting of l ‐phenylalanine residue as the linker and ethyleneoxy unit with free primary amine at C ‐terminal. The gelator efficiently immobilized aqueous media, and the critical gelation concentration (CGC) was found at 2.8 mM of the compound. Interestingly, the presence of pyrene moiety in the structure made the hydrogel intrinsically fluorescent. The self‐aggregation properties of the thermo‐reversible hydrogel were investigated using different microscopic and spectroscopic techniques such as high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy. A balanced participation of noncovalent interactions like hydrogen bonding, π‐π stacking, and van der Waals interaction was identified as the driving force for gelation. Rheological experiments were performed to confirm the viscoelastic nature of the prepared hydrogel. Furthermore, primary amine (─NH 2 ) group of hydrogelator was utilized for the in situ synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) within the soft material under sunlight in the absence of any external reducing and stabilizing agent.