Manipulating Assemblies in Metallosupramolecular Gels, Driven by Isomeric Ligands, Metal Coordination, and Adaptive Binary Gelator Systems

Metallosupramolecular gel (MSG) is a unique combination of metal-ligand coordination chemistry and supramolecular gel chemistry with extraordinary adaptivity and softness. Such materials find broad uses in industry, pharmaceutical and biomedical sectors, and in technology generation among many others. Pyridyl-appended bis(urea) gelator systems have been extensively studied as potential MSG-forming materials in the presence of various metal ions. The previous molecular engineering approaches depicted competitive intermolecular and intramolecular binding modes involving urea and pyridyl groups and further fine-tuned by the presence of various molecular spacers. In those studies, formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonding among urea moieties to form urea tape was found to be the key factor in one-dimensional assembly and gel formation. In the present study, we show how two isomeric pyridyl-appended bis(urea) ligands can be designed appropriately to essentially eliminate the interference of competitive factors, leaving the intermolecular urea assembly practically unaffected even in the presence of metal ions. We found that one of the two ligands (L2) and the mixed ligand (L1 + L2) assemblies formed gel in the presence and absence of various metal ions. A metal ion with a linear coordination geometry significantly strengthened the gels. Moreover, an inherently weak L1 + L2 assembly appears to be more adaptive in accommodating larger metal ions especially with nonlinear coordination geometry preferences. Small-angle neutron scattering and rheological, spectroscopic, and morphological characterizations, collectively, capture a detailed interplay among ligand assembly, metal-ligand coordination, and adaptivity, driven by the pure versus mixed ligand assemblies. The knowledge gathered from the present study would be highly beneficial in engineering the metallosupramolecular polymeric assemblies toward their functional applications.