Chemical Physics Letters, Vol.608, 173-176, 2014
Sol-gel transition of organogels observed by terahertz spectroscopy
Terahertz (THz) absorption spectra of organogels consisting of (1R,2R)-1,2-bis(dodecanoylamino) cyclohexane/2-nitrophenyl octyl ether (RR-BDC/NPOE) and RR-BDC/n-dodecane were measured by Fourier-transform far-infrared (FT-FIR) spectroscopy. The vibrational peaks of the gels were observed at the same frequencies as those of the pure gelator, suggesting that the intermolecular structure around the N-H center dot center dot center dot O=C hydrogen bond is maintained in the gel phase. Temperature-dependent spectroscopy showed a drastic spectral change at the sol-gel transition temperature, in which the vibrational peak at 3.5 THz disappears and a new peak appears at 2.9 THz. The change in THz vibrational frequency is indicative of the structural collapse of the hydrogen-bonded fibrous architecture in the sol phase. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.