Tetrathiafulvalene (TTF)-based gelators: Stimuli responsive gels and conducting nanostructures

Tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) and its derivatives have been intensively investigated for conducting materials for more than 30 years. As pi-electron donors, TTF and its derivatives can be reversibly transformed into the respective TTF center dot+ and TTF2+. Due to its reversible feature, the TTF unit has been widely employed as the building block for switchable systems. In recent years studies of conducting nanostructures of TTF derivatives have received more and more attention. One simple way to prepare nanostructures is through the gelation processes. In this review, we have discussed recent progress in stimuli-responsive gels and conducting nanostructures based on TTF-based gelators.