Cholesterol-substituted Tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) Compound: Formation of Organogel and Supramolecular Chirality

A new tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) derivative with two cholesterol units (compound 1) was synthesized and characterized. Gelation of n-hexane occurred after the hot solution of 1 was subjected to ultrasonic treatment for a few minutes. The resulting organogel was characterized with SEM, XRD and AFM. Besides heating the gel-sal transition also occurred upon addition of 12 which can oxidize the TTF unit in 1. This result provides a new example of organogels responding to redox reactions. Interestingly, gelation-induced CD signals were observed and the CD signals can be tuned with the gel-sal transition which can be effected by heating and chemical reaction with I-2.