Structure-property relationships of molecular gels prepared from alkanoic acid derivatives and metal salts

Molecular gels are viscoelastic soft materials formed by the self-assembly of low molecular weight gelators into three-dimensional fibrillar networks within a liquid. A systematic comparison study of molecular gels formed from a series of fatty acid derivatives, including ammonium, sodium, copper(II), nickel(II), cobalt(II), iron(III) salts, and N-phenyloctadecanamide, was conducted. A comparison of the gelation behavior with that of 12-hydroxystearic acid derivatives will also be discussed. This presentation will focus on the correlation between gelator molecular structure and gel properties, such as critical gelator concentration, stability, gel-sol transition temperature, and thermodynamic, and rheological properties.