Progress in conjugated low molecular weight gelators

Low-molecular-mass gelators (LMGs) forming gel in organic solvent is an attractive method to produce self-assembled nano- or micromaterials via noncovalent interactions such as van der Waals, H-bonding, and π-π stacking interactions. Conjugated low-molecular-mass gelators have received great interest by supramolecular chemists as their intrinsic optical and electronic properties. This paper summarizes the progress in this domain of recent years, which mainly include OPVs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and so on. Their critical gelator concentration in certain organic solvents, topology resulted from self-assembly and gel formation due to some noncovalent interaction are all introduced, and the potential applications of them are summarized. Finally, the conclusion and the prospects for conjugated low molecular weight gelators are stated.