Abstract: Two cholesterol-containing low molecular mass gelators (LMMGs) of A(LS)2 type with glycin in the linkers and butene diacid in the A part were prepared. Their gelation abilities were evaluated in 30 commonly found organic solvents. It was found that the change in the stereo-structure of the linker can produce a dramatic effect upon the gelation behaviors of the compounds. Interestingly, MA-C gels CCl4 spontaneously at room temperature, and the gel as formed exhibits good thermal stability and thixotropic property as revealed by rheological studies. More interestingly, MA-C shows phase- selective gelation of CCl4 from its mixture with water. SEM observation demonstrated that the morphologies of the aggregates of the gelators in the gels depend, but not only, on the structures of the gelators. The concentrations of the gelators, and even their interactions with the solvents also showed great effect upon the morphologies. Temperature and concentration dependent 1H NMR measurements revealed that inter-molecular hydrogen bonding and π-π stacking among the molecules of the gelators are important driving forces for the formation of the gels. XRD study revealed that MA-C assembled into a layered structure in its CCl4 gel.

Key words: Supramolecular gel, Cholesterol, Maleic acid, Fumaric acid