The "Magic Linker": Highly Effective Gelation from Sterically Awkward Packing.

ABSTRACT: Bis(urea)s based on the 4,4'-methylenebis(2,6-diethylphenylene) (4,4'-MDEP) spacer are highly effective low molecular weight gelators, and the first single crystal structure of a bis(urea) based on this spacer is reported. The structure is a conformational isomorph with eight crystallographically independent molecules (Z' = 8) arranged in four tennis-ball type dimers with the 2,6-diethylphenylene units adopting five different conformations in the ratio 4:5:3:2:2. The awkward shape and conformational promiscuity arising from the orientations of the ethyl groups in this system is linked to its gelation behavior. A total of seven 4,4'-MDEP derivatives have been prepared, and six are versatile gelators, confirming the particularly effective nature of the MDEP spacer. Only the nitropheny

SUBMITTER: Smith JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9084547 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature