Pillar[5]arene-based supramolecular gel: construction and applications

Among advanced materials, supramolecular gel (SG) materials originating from pillar[5]arene constructed by noncovalent interactions have been a dominant area of focus in terms of their prospective applications. The raw gel materials have exceptional advantages such as fine processability, nice recyclability, sharp stimulus-responsiveness, and positive self-repair. These prominent features allow SGs based on pillar[5]arene to be available in multiple areas, and tremendous achievements have already been made. Although many papers have been published, few in-depth reviews on the application potential and design strategy of SGs based on pillar[5]arene are available. Thus, we attempt to provide such a review. First, the dependency relationship between the multiapplication performance and design strategy is thoroughly discussed. Then, specific application examples are enumerated and summarized, mainly focusing on fluorescence sensing, pollutant separation, stimulus conversion, self-healing, dye removal and other applications. Last, the opportunities, challenges and prospects of SGs based on pillar[5]arene in this developing field are discussed. This review is expected to inspire researchers to explore the benefits of SGs in multiple pillar[5]arene-related applications.