Low Molecular Weight Supramolecular Gels Under Shear: Rheology as the Tool for Elucidating Structure-Function Correlation

Self-healing low molecular weight supramolecular gels (SMGs) represent an emerging class of smart materials, which can closely mimic the complex biological healing process, such as blood clotting, bone repair or wound healing. However, a lack of understanding of the structure-function correlation in the self-assembly process limits their molecular design and subsequent property tuning. The indispensability of a rheological study on supramolecular gels lies in direct transcription of the assembly property to the viscoelastic behavior of the material. This is similarly relevant to healable and non-healable systems. Thus, using rheology as a tool for elucidating structure-function relationships in self-assembled systems has huge potential. This review article will depict a general introduction of rheology in the field of soft matter including SMGs, followed by representative studies with interpretations, and discussion on future challenges. Altogether, this would be an effort, where an in-depth rheological study complemented with a real-time visualization with the help of microscopy, and introduction of other sophisticated real-time experiments, could be a step forward to capture the mystery of self-assembly process.