Exploring a supramolecular gel to in‐situ crystal fabrication from the low molecular weight gelators: a crystal engineering approach towards microelectronic device application

Abstract

A novel functional supramolecular gel (SA‐MEA) has been produced through the mixing of succinic acid and monoethanolamine directly in DMF medium under ambient conditions. The semi‐solid and viscoelastic nature of mechanically stable SA‐MEA gel has been established through the rheological analysis. The major chemical components of the gel are confirmed by EDX elemental mapping, while FESEM microstructural analysis investigates the morphological patterns of the gel. The gel gives rise to crystalline materials at room temperature and in the absence of external stimuli. Single‐crystal diffraction study of the in‐situ generated crystals shows the existence of different supramolecular synthons involving the hydrogen‐bonding interactions (N−H⋅⋅⋅O and O−H⋅⋅⋅O) leading to the formation of graph set motifs. These structural building blocks provide the stability to hold the overall molecular framework of SA‐MEA gel. Moreover, the contribution of O⋅⋅⋅H/H⋅⋅⋅O contacts plays a crucial role in this gel formation, which is established from the Hirshfeld surfaces along with linked 2D fingerprint patterns of the plot for both molecular components. Additionally, the SA‐MEA gel‘s supramolecular structure exhibits electrical conductivity, which was exploited to construct an electronic device with a metal‐semiconductor (MS) junction. Analyses of the gel‘s electrical properties were done in‐depth. Inclusive, this work demonstrates that the SA‐MEA gel may be used to create a semi‐conductive microelectronic device, such as a Schottky barrier diode.

A semiconducting supramolecular novel Ni(ii)-metallogel derived from 5-aminoisophthalic acid low molecular weight gelator: an efficient Schottky barrier diode application

“…4 The vial inversion test, which demonstrates that a vial of gel remains stable against gravity, provides the most direct primary evidence of gel formation. 5 The organic and/or inorganic gelators trap various solvents, such as water (H 2 O), 6 acetonitrile (H 3 C–CN), 7 ethanol (CH 3 CH 2 OH), 8 methanol (CH 3 OH), 9 dichloromethane (CH 2 Cl 2 ), 10 deuterated dichloromethane (CD 2 Cl 2 ), 11 1,2-dichlorobenzene (C 6 H 4 Cl 2 ), 12 acetone (CH 3 COCH 3 ), 13 carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ), 14 DMF ((CH 3 ) 2 NC(O)H), 15 tetrahydrofuran ((CH 2 ) 4 O), 16 dimethyl sulfoxide (C 2 H 6 OS), 17 and toluene (C 6 H 5 CH 3 ), 18 to create three-dimensional gel structures. 19 Polymers, such as polyester, poly(ethylene glycol), polyolefins, polycaprolactones, and polycarbonates, often serve as gelators to produce a variety of stable gel compositions.…”

“…34 Supramolecular gels have become a vital area in materials science owing to their numerous applications in both the academic and industrial arena, such as catalysis, 6 a , b ,35 lithography, 36 opto-electronic devices, 37 electrochemical devices, 38 chemo-sensors, 39 cell culture, 40 drug delivery, 41 tissue engineering, 42 and semiconductors. 15…”

Rapid Semiconducting Supramolecular Mg(II)-Metallohydrogel: Exploring Its Potential in Nonvolatile Resistive Switching Applications and Antiseptic Wound Healing Properties

“…Supramolecular gels can be divided further into two categories: hydrogels and organogels, depending on the solvent of choice. To facilitate the self-assembly of LMWGs toward the formation of supramolecular gel networks, most potent solvents include water, acetone, methanol, , tetrahydrofuran, , toluene, carbon tetrachloride, ethanol, − dimethyl sulfoxide, − acetonitrile, − dimethylformamide, − dichloromethane, , deuterated dichloromethane, − and 1,2- dichlorobenzene, and so forth.…”