pH-Responsive lower critical solution temperature behaviour of a dibenzo-24-crown-8 based low-molecular-weight gelator in water

The use of crown ethers to build water-soluble responsive materials has rarely been reported. In this study, a dibenzo-24-crown-8 based low-molecular-weight gelator (LMWG) can form a gel in aqueous media and show pH-responsive lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behaviour, which can be switched on/off by the addition of acid and base.