SMALL MOLECULAR GELLING AGENTS TO HARDEN ORGANIC LIQUIDS - ALKYLAMIDE OF N-BENZYLOXYCARBONYL-L-VALYL-L-VALINE

A long-chain alkylamide of N-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-valyl-L-valine 1 can cause physical gelation of a wide variety of organic liquids and harden them at very low concentrations; the fourier-transform infra-red (FTIR) spectra, and the thermodynamic parameters, suggest that the gel is built up through intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the N-H and C=O groups of both the amide and urethane bonds; TEM (transmission electron micrographs) of the gels show that the networks consist of numerous fibres.