Self-Assembled Gels Formed in Deep Eutectic Solvents: Supramolecular Eutectogels with High Ionic Conductivity.

1,3:2,4-Dibenzylidene-d-sorbitol (DBS), a simple, commercially relevant compound, was found to self-assemble as a result of intermolecular noncovalent interactions into supramolecular gels in deep eutectic solvents (DESs) based on choline chloride combined with alcohols/ureas. DBS formed gels at a loading of 5 % w/v. Rheology confirmed the gel-like nature of the materials, electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction indicated underpinning nanofibrillar DBS networks, and differential scanning calorimetry showed the DES nature of the liquid-like phase was retained.

1,3:2,4-Dibenzylidene-D-sorbitol (DBS) and its derivatives--efficient, versatile and industrially-relevant low-molecular-weight gelators with over 100 years of history and a bright future.

Dibenzylidene-D-sorbitol (DBS) has been a well-known low-molecular-weight gelator of organic solvents for over 100 years. As such, it constitutes a very early example of a supramolecular gel--a research field which has recently developed into one of intense interest. The ability of DBS to self-assemble into sample-spanning networks in numerous solvents is predicated upon its 'butterfly-like' structure, whereby the benzylidene groups constitute the 'wings' and the sorbitol backbone the 'body'--the two parts representing the molecular recognition motifs underpinning its gelation mechanism, with the nature of solvent playing a key role in controlling the precise assembly mode.