Freestanding organogels by molecular velcro of unsaturated amphiphiles.

A simple amphiphile, N-cardanyltaurine amide (NCT) with different degrees of cis-unsaturation in its tail resulted in the formation of strong organogels. Interestingly, this is in contrast to the commonly accepted notion that introducing unsaturation in alkyl chains enhances fluidity in lipid assemblies. The physico-chemical and first-principles DFT calculations confirmed the pegging of 'kinked' unsaturated side chains, where the hydrophobic interlocking as in Velcro fasteners leads to a network of cylindrical micelles, resulting in self-standing organogels.

A common tattoo chemical for energy storage: henna plant-derived naphthoquinone dimer as a green and sustainable cathode material for Li-ion batteries.

The burgeoning energy demands of an increasingly eco-conscious population have spurred the need for sustainable energy storage devices, and have called into question the viability of the popular lithium ion battery. A series of natural polyaromatic compounds have previously displayed the capability to bind lithium polar oxygen-containing functional groups that act as redox centers in potential electrodes. Lawsone, a widely renowned dye molecule extracted from the henna leaf, can be dimerized to bislawsone to yield up to six carbonyl/hydroxyl groups for potential lithium coordination.

In Situ Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticle Embedded Hybrid Soft Nanomaterials.

The allure of integrating the tunable properties of soft nanomaterials with the unique optical and electronic properties of metal nanoparticles has led to the development of organic-inorganic hybrid nanomaterials. A promising method for the synthesis of such organic-inorganic hybrid nanomaterials is afforded by the in situ generation of metal nanoparticles within a host organic template. Due to their tunable surface morphology and porosity, soft organic materials such as gels, liquid crystals, and polymers that are derived from various synthetic or natural compounds can act as templates for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles of different shapes and sizes.

Reversible Switching of Tb(III) Emission by Sensitization from 2,3-Dihydroxynaphthalene in an Isothermally Reversible Ionic Liquid.

A reversible room-temperature ionic liquid (ILO) was prepared by the addition of CO2 to an equimolar mixture of hexylamidine (AD) and butylamine (AN). The ILO and AD/AN mixture were cycled repeatedly by alternating the passage of CO2 and N2 gases through the liquid. The ILO was utilized to sensitize very efficiently energy transfer to and emission by Tb(III) ions when 2,3-dihydroxynaphthalene (DHN) was irradiated.

A fluorescent molecular probe for the identification of zinc and cadmium salts by excited state charge transfer modulation.

A fluorescent probe for the identification of a given metal salt is not known. Herein we present a new fluorescent probe 1 for the identification of different zinc and cadmium salts by exploiting the effect of the charge density of counteranions to perturb the excited state solvatochromic behavior of the probe.

Chain folding controlled by an isomeric repeat unit: helix formation versus random aggregation in acetylene-bridged carbazole-bipyridine co-oligomers.

An unprecedented, positional effect of the isomeric repeat unit on chain folding in donor–acceptor-linked oligomers, which contain alternating bipyridine and carbazole moieties that are connected through an acetylinic linkage, is reported. 4,4′-Linked oligomer 1 adopts an intrachain helical conformation (CD-active) in CHCl3/MeCN (20:80 v/v), whereas oligomer 2, which contains an isomeric 6,6′-linkage, forms interchain randomly coiled aggregates (CD-inactive). The substitution position plays a significant role in controlling the variations in electronic effects and dipole moments around the bipyridyl moiety, which are responsible for this observed phenomenon.

Solvent-induced aggregation and cation-controlled self-assembly of tripodal squaraine dyes: optical, chiroptical and morphological properties.

The synthesis, characterisation, optical, chiroptical, aggregation, and alkaline earth metal cation assisted self-assembly properties of tripodal squaraine dyes have been described. In the tripodal geometry, these dyes exhibit three absorption bands around 650, 620 and 580 nm in contrast to the single, sharp absorption of a simple dye (SQ) at 640 nm. The fluorescence quantum yield of the squaraine dyes are 25-30 times lower when compared to that of SQ, which indicates intramolecular exciton interaction as a result of the confinement of the dyes.