Small-peptide-based organogel kit: towards the development of multicomponent self-sorting organogels

Abstract

The results presented here highlight the extremely useful nature of ultra-short peptides as building blocks in the development of smart multicomponent supramolecular devices. A facile bottom-up strategy for the synthesis of a small library of stimuli-responsive smart organogelators has been proposed based on the predictive self-assembly of ultra-short peptides. More importantly, the narcissistic self-sorting of the gelators has been evaluated as a simple method for the efficient co-assembly of a donor-acceptor dual-component gel, allowing the investigation of possible future applications of similar systems in the development of a supramolecular photo-conversion device. Interestingly, it was observed that the self-organization of the components can lead to highly ordered systems in which discrimination between compatible and non-compatible building blocks directs the effective organization of the chromophores and gives rise to the formation of an excited-state complex with exciplex-like emission. The current report may prove important in the development of organogel-based multicomponent smart devices.

Keywords: UV/Vis spectroscopy; gels; nanomaterials; peptides; self-assembly.