

Polymer Chemistry 2018
Polymer Sciences
ISSN: 2471-9935
Page 53
March 26-28, 2018
Vienna, Austria
3
rd
Edition of International Conference and Exhibition on
Polymer Chemistry
S
upramolecular gels comprised of low-molecular-weight
gelators are generally regarded as mechanically weak and
unable to support formation of free-standing structures, hence,
their practical use with applied loads has been limited. Here, we
reveal a technique for
in situ
generation of high tensile strength
supramolecular hydrogels derived from low-molecular-weight
gelators. By controlling the concentration of hydrochloric acid
during hydrazone formation between calix[4]arene-based gelator
precursors, we tune the mechanical and ductile properties of
the resulting gel. Organogels formed without hydrochloric acid
exhibit impressive tensile strengths, higher than 40 MPa, which is
the strongest among self-assembled gels. Hydrogels, prepared by
solvent exchange of organogels in water, show 7,000-10,000-fold
enhanced mechanical properties because of further hydrazone
formation. This method of molding also allows the gels to retain
shape after processing, and furthermore, we find organogels
when prepared as gel electrolytes for lithium battery applications
to have good ionic conductivity.
Biography
Jong Hwa Jung received his PhD Degrees in Chemistry from Gyeongsang
National University and Kyushu University, Japan in 1993 and 2005, respec-
tively. From 1994 to 2005, he worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Osaka Uni-
versity, as a Research Scientist at the Japan Science and Technology Cor-
poration, and as a Principal Researcher at the Korea Basic Science Institute
respectively. He has been a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at
Gyeongsang National University since 2006. His research interest involves:
supramolecular chemistry, organic-inorganic hybrid nanomaterials, func-
tional silica-based nanomaterials, sol-gel chemistry, self-assembled gels,
molecular recognition based nanosensors.
jonghwa@gnu.ac.krHigh mechanical strength of supramolecular gels formed via
hydrazone reaction
Jong Hwa Jung
Gyeongsang National University, South Korea
Jong Hwa Jung, Polym Sci, Volume 4
DOI: 10.4172/2471-9935-C1-008