A stimuli-responsive L-DOPA-based supramolecular gel for the detection of fluoride ion
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Date
2024
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Publisher
Royal society of chemistry
Abstract
Description
We report the rational design and synthesis of a new L-DOPA-based low molecular weight gelator where the two phenolic OH groups are protected by tertiary-butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS) moieties. The gelator showed excellent solvent immobilizing properties in different polar aprotic solvents with minimum gelation concentrations (MGCs) of 0.3–0.5% (w/v). Various microscopic and spectroscopic techniques such as FESEM, HRTEM, FTIR, XRD, CD and rheology were used to characterize the thermo- reversible supramolecular gels. Interestingly, the protection and deprotection of the TBDMS group was successfully utilized for the detection of fluoride ions visually simply by observing the gel to sol transi-tion. Additionally, F ions could be quantitatively estimated by correlating the gel-degradation times with the fluoride ion concentrations. This is the first ever report where a key biological precursor L-DOPA and
TBDMS moieties have been incorporated into the gelator structure for the detection and estimation of F- ions using a visual gel-to-sol phase transition method.