Exploiting Cavities in Supramolecular Gels

✍ Scribed by Jonathan A. Foster; Prof. Jonathan W. Steed

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 818 KB
• Volume: 49
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0044-8249
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201000070

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Endowing supramolecular gelators with cavities opens up a number of opportunities not possible with other gel systems. The well‐established host–guest chemistry of cavitands can be utilized to build up and break down gel structures, introduce responsive functionalities, or enhance selectivity in applications such as catalysis and extraction. Cavity‐containing gelators provide an excellent case study for how different aspects of supramolecular chemistry can be used intelligently to create responsive materials.