Diverse Applications of Luminescent Metallocholate Hydrogels

Abstract

Supramolecular gels are soft materials consisting of a solid three-dimensional network with noncovalent interactions such as hydrophobic interactions, hydrogen bonding, cation-п, and п- п interactions. Due to their soft, solid-like nature, tunable properties, and easy processability, these gels have found myriad applications. Photoluminescent supramolecular hydrogels have attracted the immense attention of researchers due to their extensive application in many areas for example diagnosis, bioimaging, electronics, and analytical purpose. Lanthanide-based photoluminescent probes have been extensively studied for their unique photophysical properties including narrow emission bands, large Stokes shifts, and long excited-state lifetime. In this thesis, we have integrated lanthanides with bile salts to form supramolecular metallogels with stimuli-responsive properties, and as a matrix for sensitive detection of various small molecules. This work also presents a user-friendly, low-cost approach to sensing analytes using gel immobilized ‘paper-based sensors’ with the potential to serve as a sensitive and rapid detector of analytes. Additionally, a concise chemical strategy has been developed to obtain room temperature organic phosphorescence and delayed fluorescence in the supramolecular hydrogel system.