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Using EPR spectroscopy as a unique probe of molecular-scale reorganization and solvation in self-assembled gel-phase materials

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Published
  • Agneta Caragheorgheopol
  • William Edwards
  • John G. Hardy
  • David K. Smith
  • Victor Chechik
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<mark>Journal publication date</mark>13/07/2014
<mark>Journal</mark>Langmuir
Issue number30
Volume30
Number of pages9
Pages (from-to)9210-9218
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

We describe the synthesis of spin-labeled bis-ureas which coassemble with bis-urea gelators and report on self-assembly as detected using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR). Specifically, EPR detects the gel-sol transition and allows us to quantify how much spin-label is immobilized within the gel fibers and how much is present in mobile solvent pools-as controlled by temperature, gelator structure, and thermal history. EPR is also able to report on the initial self-assembly processes below the gelation threshold which are not macroscopically visible and appears to be more sensitive than NMR to intermediate-sized nongelating oligomeric species. By studying dilute solutions of gelator molecules and using either single or double spin-labels, EPR allows quantification of the initial steps of the hierarchical self-assembly process in terms of cooperativity and association constant. Finally, EPR enables us to estimate the degree of gel-fiber solvation by probing the distances between spin-labels. Comparison of experimental data against the predicted distances assuming the nanofibers are only composed of gelator molecules indicates a significant difference, which can be assigned to the presence of a quantifiable number of explicit solvent molecules. In summary, EPR provides unique data and yields powerful insight into how molecular-scale mobility and solvation impact on assembly of supramolecular gels.