Synthesis of Two-Component Dendritic Gelators and their Self-Assembly Behavior in MMA

Three kinds of amide dendritic branches, Branch1 (COOH), Branch2 (COOH) and Branch3 (COOH), are successfully synthesized. After mixing with diaminoctane, their self-assembly behavior in methyl methacrylate (MMA) is investigated. The structures of the amide dendritic branches are confirmed by 1H-NMR and Mass spectra (MS). The gelation ability of the amide dendritic gelators is researched through tube inversion experiment, the results of which show that different structures led to quite different gelation ability, including gel-sol temperature and critical concentration to form a stable gel. SEM experiments show that three kinds of gelators formed different gel morphologies in MMA.