7 A Primer on Gels (with an Emphasis on Molecular Gels)
313
Fig. 7.9 SEM micrographs of braid topologies observed in gels of 5UR. Reprinted with permission
from Nature Chemistry 2019, 11, 375. Copyright (2019) Springer Nature
Less dramatic (but clear) elongation of the fibers was also found when some shorter
saturated alkanoate salts were added in place of the N-decanoyl-L-alanine.
7.8.2 Some Tubule Assemblies of More Complex
Alkane-Derived Surfactants
Nanotubules can offer an especially interesting mode of aggregation and growth
leading to gel networks [53]. For example, the modes of growth and detailed structures of nanotubes from L-dodecanoylserine, a structurally simple molecule with
a long alkyl chain and a polar head group, are very dependent on the liquid from
which they are grown (Fig. 7.10) [83]. In water, aggregation proceeds from micelles
and helical ribbons, leading eventually to tubules (mp 17–20 °C) in which the polar
head groups pointed outward. When grown from toluene, the progression is from
inverted micelles and vesicles and the lipophilic tails are pointed outward in the
313
Fig. 7.9 SEM micrographs of braid topologies observed in gels of 5UR. Reprinted with permission
from Nature Chemistry 2019, 11, 375. Copyright (2019) Springer Nature
Less dramatic (but clear) elongation of the fibers was also found when some shorter
saturated alkanoate salts were added in place of the N-decanoyl-L-alanine.
7.8.2 Some Tubule Assemblies of More Complex
Alkane-Derived Surfactants
Nanotubules can offer an especially interesting mode of aggregation and growth
leading to gel networks [53]. For example, the modes of growth and detailed structures of nanotubes from L-dodecanoylserine, a structurally simple molecule with
a long alkyl chain and a polar head group, are very dependent on the liquid from
which they are grown (Fig. 7.10) [83]. In water, aggregation proceeds from micelles
and helical ribbons, leading eventually to tubules (mp 17–20 °C) in which the polar
head groups pointed outward. When grown from toluene, the progression is from
inverted micelles and vesicles and the lipophilic tails are pointed outward in the