Anomalous Gelation of Self-Assembling Ethanol Molecules with BaZrO <sub>3</sub> Nanoparticles and Water Molecules
We found that ethanol molecules themselves form a large gel structure by self-assembling with few-nanometer-diameter BaZrO3 (BZO) nanoparticles and water molecules. Our finding reveals an intriguing phenomenon where ethanol molecules support the main structure of a large gel structure through supramolecular assembly via hydrogen bonding. The key factor for the gelation of ethanol observed in this study is the presence of positively charged and homogeneously dispersed BZO nanoparticles produced by our pulverization method. When these nanoparticles and water were present, a substantial amount of ethanol gelled, which would not normally occur. That is, the BZO nanoparticles produced by our pulverization method behave practically as a gelator in our system.
Authors
- Takuya Yamaguchi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4643-6438)
- Katherine Develos-Bagarinao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6846-191X)
- Koji Ohara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3134-512X)
- Ryoichi Kanega
- Haruo Kishimoto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4526-9439)
- Daisuke Asakura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7502-8858)
- Akihiro Ohira
- Takaaki Sakai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5105-770X)
- Eiji Hosono (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6941-2327)
- Tomohiro Ishiyama (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0956-6740)
- Masatsugu Oishi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4561-1038)
- Toshiaki Ina (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5579-3076)
Institutions
- Kyushu University (JP)
- Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JP)
- National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (JP)
- Tokushima University (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- ACS Materials Letters
- Published
- 2025-10-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmaterialslett.5c01107
- Primary Topic
- Supramolecular Self-Assembly in Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00