Herein, we report on the stabilizing effect of water and the chiral self-assembly mode of a cholesterol-based low-molecular-weight supramolecular organogelator. Dynamic rheology experiments performed on gels prepared in methanol and methanol–water mixtures showed an enhanced strength and rigidity in the presence of water, in line with the thermal stability previously observed. Morphological characterization experiments (scanning electron microscopy and X-ray powder diffraction) were performed on aerogels obtained after solvent extraction with supercritical CO₂. Concentration- and temperature-dependent proton nuclear magnetic resonance and electronic circular dichroism experiments confirmed that the molecules of gelator self-assemble with a dominant right-handed helicity through intermolecular hydrogen bond interactions between the carbamate groups, and that the addition of water does not affect either the mode of assembly or the chirality of the supramolecular structure. Computational simulation experiments allowed us to propose a mode of self-assembly compatible with the experimental results, which involves a unidimensional head-to-tail stacking of molecules. A methanolic gel was successfully used as a molecular template for the in situ hydrolytic sol-gel polymerization of tetraethyl orthosilicate giving rise to silica nanotubes with an internal diameter of 7 nm.

在此，我们报告了水的稳定作用和基于胆固醇的低分子量超分子有机凝胶剂的手性自组装模式。在甲醇和甲醇 - 水混合物中制备的凝胶上进行的动态流变学实验表明，在水存在下，强度和刚度增强，与之前观察到的热稳定性一致。对用超临界 CO ₂溶剂萃取后获得的气凝胶进行形态表征实验（扫描电子显微镜和 X 射线粉末衍射）. 浓度和温度依赖性质子核磁共振和电子圆二色性实验证实，凝胶剂分子通过氨基甲酸酯基团之间的分子间氢键相互作用以右手螺旋占优势自组装，并且加水不影响组装方式或超分子结构的手性。计算模拟实验使我们能够提出一种与实验结果兼容的自组装模式，该模式涉及分子的一维头尾堆叠。甲醇凝胶成功地用作原硅酸四乙酯的原位水解溶胶-凝胶聚合的分子模板，产生内径为 7 nm 的二氧化硅纳米管。