A Sugar-Based Gelator for Marine Oil-Spill Recovery

A versatile carbohydrate based gelator for oil water separation, nanoparticle synthesis and dye removal

A versatile green gelator suitable for multiple applications is reported. Gelation of organic solvents in a significantly low gelation time (<5 s) is achieved.

Synthesis and characterization of amide linked triazolyl glycolipids as molecular hydrogelators and organogelators

Eighteen new glycolipids were synthesized and characterized. All eighteen are effective molecular gelators for at least one solvent and eleven are hydrogelators at concentrations of 0.15–1.0 wt%. The hydrogels are suitable carriers for sustained release of chloramphenicol.

Xylitol based phase selective organogelators for potential oil spillage recovery

Xylitol based cost effective and easily synthesizable phase selective gelators were developed for strong gelation ability for different crude oils, wide range of refinery products and reported for their potential application in oil spillage recovery.

Low-Cost Phase-Selective Organogelators for Rapid Gelation of Crude Oils at Room Temperature

Frequent marine oil spills pose a significant threat to the environment and marine's ecosystem. We have recently reported a highly tunable molecular gelling scaffold, which enables us to identify a few first examples of phase-selective organogelators (PSOGs) that can instantly gel the crude oil of various types with room-temperature operation. In this study, we demonstrate the high robustness and reliability of this modular gelling scaffold in consistently and combinatorially producing high capacity PSOGs. Such a unique feature has allowed us to carry out a systematic study of 48 gelators via a two-step screening process and to discover another powerful carboxybenzyl-based gelator with comparable gelling properties but with a cost lowered by more than 300%, pointing to a good commercial potential for rapid cleanup of oil spills while effectively eliminating environmental pollution caused by the spilled oil.

Sugar based amphiphiles: easily accessible and efficient crude oil spill thickening agents

In this work, we demonstrate the use of biomass for the catalytic production of phase-selective gelators (PSGs) as a cost-effective, environmentally benign and ideal method for crude oil spill remediation, as well as execute the study exclusively in crude oil. The use of PSGs has recently provided great promise relative to that of their traditional counterparts. However, the use of PSGs with crude oil is much more complicated due to its complex composition. All of the current PSG methods are demonstrated with refined oils or do not employ eco-friendly methods like enzymatic synthesis. Our current project entails studying sugar alcohol-derived amphiphiles for their phase-selective gelation in crude oil; the PSGs are derived from renewable, benign materials and synthesized via a simple, single-step, enzymatic catalysis that required no purification. The results showed that, after a rigorous and systematic testing, the mannitol-derived amphiphile using 8-carbon alkyl chain length (M-8) turned out to be the best crude oil PSG among the studied amphiphiles. M-8 demonstrated a versatility towards thickening of different crude oil types, an efficient ability towards selective gelation of the oil (forming crude oil gel that is over sixty-one-times its mass and stable up to 109.7 °C) in a crude oil/water mixture, and an ability to form gel under practical situations such as seawater conditions. These qualities, in addition to the use of a simple and environmentally benign method to synthesize the structuring agents, make this amphiphile very practical in real life application.

Solvent effects on modulus of poly(propylene oxide)-based organogels as measured by cavitation rheology

A series of novel organogels were synthesized from poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) functionalized with main chain urea moieties which provided rapid gelation and high moduli in a variety of solvents. Three different molecular weight PPOs were used in this study: 430, 2000, and 4000 g mol(-1), each with α,ω-amino-end groups. Four urea groups were introduced into the main chain by reaction with hexamethylene diisocyanate followed by subsequent reaction with a monofunctional alkyl or aromatic amine. This PPO/urea gelator was found to form gels in carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, dichloromethane, toluene, ethyl acetate, and tetrahydrofuran. Among these, carbon tetrachloride and toluene were found to be the best solvents for this system, resulting in perfectly clear gels with high moduli at low mass fraction for PPO-2000 systems. Flory-Huggins polymer-solvent interaction parameter, χ, was found to be a useful indicator of gel quality for these systems, with χCCl4/PPO-2000 < 0.5 and χtoluene/PPO-2000≈ 0.5. Systems with χ parameters >0.5 were found to form low moduli gels, indicating that for these systems, polymer-solvent interaction parameters can be a useful predictor of gel quality in different solvent systems.

Low molecular weight gels: potential in remediation of crude oil spillage and recovery

A molecular gelator which has strong gelation ability for different crude oils (light to heavy crudes), and a wide range of refinery products is reported for the first time for its potential application in oil spillage/recovery.

Arabinose based gelators: rheological characterization of the gels and phase selective organogelation of crude-oil

Detailed characterizations, including rheological studies of new triazolyl arabinoside based organogelators which are effective for PSOG of crude-oil are reported.