Chapter 9:Applications of Supramolecular Gels

Molecular gels can be assembled from a diverse range of low-molecular-weight building blocks, meaning there is a remarkably wide range of applications of such materials. This chapter describes both achieved industrial uses and potential future high-tech applications, highlighting the unique advantages offered by this class of materials, and hence providing insight into how the fundamental principles of self-assembled gel science can be applied. Established industrial applications such as in lubricants, personal care products, polymer modification, and the food industry, often make use of the rheological performance of these materials. Future high-tech applications, for example in drug delivery, tissue engineering, environmental remediation, and energy technologies, often make use of the chemical programming of the self-assembled nanoscale network to add enhanced function. This chapter carefully selects examples so that the reader can take away the main principles, understand the historical development of the field, and gain critical insight into gel applications. Although there are several outstanding reviews of LMWG applications, this chapter uniquely combines often-overlooked, yet well-established industrial uses of supramolecular gels with cutting-edge academic developments in the field.