Vortex flow induced self-assembly in CsPbI3 rods leads to an improved electrical response towards external analytes.

We present a facile and versatile strategy for enabling CsPbI3 rods to self-assemble at an air-water interface. The CsPbI3 rods, which float at the air-water interface, align under the influence of the rotational flow field due to the vortex motion of a water subphase. The aligned CsPbI3 rods could be transferred onto various substrates without involving any sophisticated instrumentation. The temperature of the subphase, the concentration of the CsPbI3 aliquot, the rotational speed inducing vortex motion, and the lift-off position and angle of the substrate were optimized to achieve high coverage of the self-assembled rods of CsPbI3 on glass. The Rietveld refinement of the XRD profile confirms that the aligned CsPbI3 is in the pure orthorhombic phase ascribed to the Pnma space group. The hydrophilic carboxylic group of the oleic acid attaches to the Pb atoms of the halide perovskite rods, while their hydrophobic tails encapsulate the rods within their shell, creating a shielding barrier between the water and the perovskite surface like a reverse micelle. The aligned CsPbI3 rods exhibit a nearly 47-fold increment in current upon exposure to ammonia gas (amounting to 5.6 times higher sensitivity in ammonia sensing) compared to the non-aligned CsPbI3 rods.

Effect of Pretreatment Conditions on the Precise Nanoporosity of Graphene Oxide.

Nanoscale pores in graphene oxide (GO) control various important functions. The nanoporosity of GO is sensitive to low-temperature heating. Therefore, it is important to carefully process GO and GO-based materials to achieve superior functions. Optimum pretreatment conditions, such as the pre-evacuation temperature and time, are important during gas adsorption in GO to obtain accurate pore structure information. This study demonstrated that the pre-evacuation temperature and time for gas adsorption in GO must be approximately 333-353 K and 4 h, respectively, to avoid the irreversible alteration of nanoporosity. In situ temperature-dependent Fourier-transform infrared spectra and thermogravimetric analysis-mass spectrometry suggested significant structural changes in GO above the pre-evacuation temperature (353 K) through the desorption of "physically adsorbed water" and decomposition of unstable surface functional groups. The nanoporosity of GO significantly changed above the aforementioned pre-evacuation temperature and time. Thus, standard pretreatment is indispensable for understanding the intrinsic interface properties of GO.

Isomerization-Induced Excimer Formation of Pyrene-Based Acylhydrazone Controlled by Light- and Solvent-Sensing Aromatic Analytes.

Pyrene is a fluorescent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and it would be interesting to determine whether its C═N-based conjugate can be used for sensing of aromatic analytes at its supramolecular aggregated state. For this purpose, we have synthesized (E)-3,4,5-tris(dodecyloxy)-N'-(pyren-1-ylmethylene)benzohydrazide (Py@B) by alkylation, substitution, and the Schiff base reaction methodology. The E-isomer of Py@B (E-Py@B) exhibits a bright fluorescence due to excimer formation in nonaromatic solvents. Upon photoirradiation with λ = 254 nm, it exhibits E-Z isomerization across the C═N bond at a low concentration (10-4 M), resulting in a quenched fluorescence intensity, and interestingly, upon photoirradiation with λ = 365 nm, the Z-isomer of Py@B returns to the E-isomer again, indicating that E-Z isomerization of Py@B is reversible in nature. The thick supramolecular aggregated morphology of E-Py@B changes to a flowery needlelike morphology after photoirradiation with λ = 254 nm. The UV-vis absorption band at 370 nm for 10-4 M Py@B in methyl cyclohexane (MCH) is due to excimer formation for closer proximity of pyrene moieties present in E-Py@B and changes to the absorption peak at 344 nm for its Z-isomer formation. The fluorescence spectroscopy results also support the fact that the optimum concentration of the E-isomer of Py@B is 2 × 10-4 M in MCH for excimer formation. From spectral results, it may be concluded that nonaromatic solvents assist in constructing the excimer, but aromatic solvents resist forming an excimer complex of E-Py@B. The fluorescent emission of E-Py@B in MCH is quickly quenched on addition of different aromatic analytes through both static and dynamic pathways. In the solid state, E-Py@B also senses aromatic vapors efficiently via fluorescence quenching. Absorbance spectra of a model molecule obtained using time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations on a DFT-optimized structure indicate complex adduct formation between E-Py@B and aromatic analytes from the well-matched theoretical and experimental UV-vis spectra on addition of different analytes with E-Py@B.

Amalgamation of MnWO4 nanorods with amorphous carbon nanotubes for highly stabilized energy efficient supercapacitor electrodes.

Enhanced electrochemical performance of supercapacitors can be achieved through optimal hybridization of electroactive nanomaterials, as it effectively increases the overall surface area and ensures greater electrolyte-electrode interaction. This work reports the realization of a manganese tungstate and amorphous carbon nanotube (MnWO4-aCNT) hybrid and its utilization as the electrodes for a solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor. Large-scale synthesis of aCNTs was carried out via an economical solid-state reaction at low temperature and the walls of these nanotubes were decorated with MnWO4 nanorods via a surfactant-free in situ hydrothermal process. The as-fabricated electrode based on this hybrid over nickel foam delivered a high specific capacitance of 542.18 F g-1 at a scan rate of 2 mV s-1, which is much superior to the values of the structural units separately. This MnWO4-aCNT based electrode showed a high-rate capacity with ∼100% capacitance retention and a coulombic efficiency of ∼100% even after operation for 15 000 cycles. A solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor based on this hybrid attained an energy density of 5.6 W h kg-1 and a power density as high as 893.6 W kg-1. Significantly enhanced electrochemical behaviour registered from the hybrid sample is accounted for by its enhanced surface area and thereby greater number of redox reaction sites along with the positive synergetic effect of the building blocks. This study unlocks further exploration possibilities with other types of aCNT-based hybrid materials for the development of highly stable, non-toxic and cost-effective sustainable energy storage systems.

1D materials from ionic self-assembly in mixtures containing chromonic liquid crystal mesogens.

Ionic self-assembly is a simple yet powerful method to obtain robust nanostructures. Herewith, we use mixtures of oppositely-charged porphyrins that can act as mesogens to form chromonic liquid crystals in water, i.e., molecular stacks with orientational (nematic) or positional (hexagonal) order. Electrostatic locking coupled with π-π interactions between aromatic groups within the stacks, together with inter-stack hydrogen bonding induce formation of all-organic crystalline nanofibers with high aspect ratio (a few tenths of nanometers in width but several tenths of micrometers in length) and that display branching. The nanofibers prepared from metal-free porphyrin units feature interesting optical properties, including an absorption spectrum that is different from the simple sum of the individual spectra of the components, which is attributed to a striking aggregation-induced chromism. When in contact with some polar organic solvents the materials become fluorescent, as a result of disaggregation. In a proof-of-concept, the obtained self-assembled one-dimensional (1D) materials were carbonized (yield ca. 60%) to produce nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers that can be used as active electrode materials for energy storage applications.

A robust stimuli responsive Eu3+ - Metalo organic hydrogel and xerogel emitting white light.

Recently, there is incredible growth on optoelectronic properties of new supramolecular gels and white-light-emitting (WLE) metalo-organic gel comprised with single lanthanide metal ion having stimuli-responsive property is not yet reported. Here, we report a mandelic acid (MA)-triethylene tetraamine (TETA)-Eu-acetate conjugate (4.5:1:0.4 mol ratio), producing stimuli-sensitive WLE hydrogel exhibiting thermoreversible, thixotropic, pH-switchable, self-standing and self-healing properties. Energy minimized structure suggests complexation between MA-TETA conjugate and Eu3+ ion. Fluorescence intensity of MA-TETA conjugate decreases with increasing Eu3+ concentration indicating energy transfer from MA-TETA to Eu3+. Decay of donor fluorescence intensity follows Stern-Volmer equation and energy transfer efficiency is 42%. WLE gel has Quantum yield 11.4% and Förster distance 1.7 Å. Hydrogel and xerogel show WLE on excitation at 330 and 350 nm having CIE coordinates (0.34, 0.33) and (0.28, 0.32), respectively. WLE gel has Correlated colour temperature 5148 K, appropriate for cool day light emission and on coating over UV-LED bulb it emits bright white light.

Vortex-Aligned Ordered Film of Crystalline Fullerene C70 Microtubes with Enhanced Photoluminescence and Photovoltaics Properties.

Crystalline fullerene C70 microtubes (FMTs) were produced employing ultrasound-assisted liquid- liquid interfacial precipitation (ULLIP) technique at the interface between fullerene C70 solution in 1,2 dichlorobenzene (DCB) and isopropanol (IPA) at 15 °C. Using the vortex-flow motion of the subphase water (also called Vortex-Langmuir-Blodgett technique), the FMTs were aligned and homogeneous films were prepared at the air-water interface. The aligned FMTs film exhibited enhanced photoluminescence (PL) with PL intensity ~5 times higher than that of the pristine C70. Moreover, the aligned FMT film showed better photovoltaics properties compared with randomly oriented FMTs and pristine C70 film obtained from the spin coating. The compact, directional orientation and proper surface coverage of the FMT film enhanced the charge transport properties in the photovoltaic device.

Triarylamine-Cored Dendritic Molecular Gel for Efficient Colorometric, Fluorometric, and Impedometeric Detection of Picric Acid.

Detection of nitroaromatics at ultralow concentration is a major security concern in defense, forensics, and environmental science. To this end, a new triarylamine-cored dendritic gelator (OGR) was synthesized, which produced thermoreversible, thixotropic, and fluorescent gels in n-octanol. On gelation, both π-π* transitions and the emission peak of the gelator show redshifts with a 4.5-fold increase of fluorescence intensity in the gel state indicating J-aggregation. The nitrogen lone-pair electrons of OGR make it a donor, and electron transfer occurs to acceptor nitroaromatics causing fluorescence quenching, which is further promoted due to its acidity. The Stern-Volmer rate constants measured for different nitroaromatics showed that it senses picric acid (PA) best. The contact-mode technique with OGR-treated paper strips can allow naked-eye detection of PA under UV light down to 10-11 m concentration within 30 s. Reusability of the gel is achieved by treating OGR@PAx with NaOH solution. Impedance spectroscopic results indicated a decrease of both charge-transport resistance and Warburg impedance on successive addition of PA. The limits of detection of PA determined from fluorescence and impedance measurements match well. Thus, the OGR gel is a reusable, low-cost, specific sensor for PA by naked-eye colorimetric, fluorescence, and impedance techniques.

Quasi 2D Mesoporous Carbon Microbelts Derived from Fullerene Crystals as an Electrode Material for Electrochemical Supercapacitors.

Fullerene C60 microbelts were fabricated using the liquid-liquid interfacial precipitation method and converted into quasi 2D mesoporous carbon microbelts by heat treatment at elevated temperatures of 900 and 2000 °C. The carbon microbelts obtained by heat treatment of fullerene C60 microbelts at 900 °C showed excellent electrochemical supercapacitive performance, exhibiting high specific capacitances ca. 360 F g-1 (at 5 mV s-1) and 290 F g-1 (at 1 A g-1) because of the enhanced surface area and the robust mesoporous framework structure. Additionally, the heat-treated carbon microbelt showed good rate performance, retaining 49% of capacitance at a high scan rate of 10 A g-1. The carbon belts exhibit super cyclic stability. Capacity loss was not observed even after 10 000 charge/discharge cycles. These results demonstrate that the quasi 2D mesoporous carbon microbelts derived from a π-electron-rich carbon source, fullerene C60 crystals, could be used as a new candidate material for electrochemical supercapacitor applications.

Intentional Closing/Opening of "Hole-in-Cube" Fullerene Crystals with Microscopic Recognition Properties.

We report production of highly crystalline fullerene C70 cubes possessing an open-hole structure at the center of each of their faces using a solution-based self-assembly strategy. The holes are isolated with a solid core at the interiors of the cubes. The open-hole structure of the cubes can be intentionally closed by introducing additional C70 and reopened by applying electron beam irradiation. The open-hole cubes exhibit preferential recognition of graphitic carbon particles over polymeric resin particles of similar dimensions due to the cubes' sp2-rich carboniferous nature.

Eigenvalue-eigenvector decomposition (EED) analysis of dissimilarity and covariance matrix obtained from total synchronous fluorescence spectral (TSFS) data sets of herbal preparations: Optimizing the classification approach.

The present work compares the dissimilarity and covariance based unsupervised chemometric classification approaches by taking the total synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy data sets acquired for the cumin and non-cumin based herbal preparations. The conventional decomposition method involves eigenvalue-eigenvector analysis of the covariance of the data set and finds the factors that can explain the overall major sources of variation present in the data set. The conventional approach does this irrespective of the fact that the samples belong to intrinsically different groups and hence leads to poor class separation. The present work shows that classification of such samples can be optimized by performing the eigenvalue-eigenvector decomposition on the pair-wise dissimilarity matrix.

Supramolecular Differentiation for Construction of Anisotropic Fullerene Nanostructures by Time-Programmed Control of Interfacial Growth.

Supramolecular assembly can be used to construct a wide variety of ordered structures by exploiting the cumulative effects of multiple noncovalent interactions. However, the construction of anisotropic nanostructures remains subject to some limitations. Here, we demonstrate the preparation of anisotropic fullerene-based nanostructures by supramolecular differentiation, which is the programmed control of multiple assembly strategies. We have carefully combined interfacial assembly and local phase separation phenomena. Two fullerene derivatives, PhH and C12H, were together formed into self-assembled anisotropic nanostructures by using this approach. This technique is applicable for the construction of anisotropic nanostructures without requiring complex molecular design or complicated methodology.

Hierarchically Structured Fullerene C70 Cube for Sensing Volatile Aromatic Solvent Vapors.

We report the preparation of hierarchically structured fullerene C70 cubes (HFC) composed of mesoporous C70 nanorods with crystalline pore walls. Highly crystalline cubic shape C70 crystals (FC) were grown at a liquid-liquid interface formed between tert-butyl alcohol and C70 solution in mesitylene. HFCs were then prepared by washing with isopropanol of the FC at 25 °C. The growth directions and diameters of C70 nanorods could be controlled by varying washing conditions. HFCs perform as an excellent sensing system for vapor-phase aromatic solvents due to their easy diffusion through the mesoporous architecture and strong π-π interactions with the sp(2) carbon-rich pore walls. Moreover, HFCs offer an enhanced electrochemically active surface area resulting in an energy storage capacity 1 order of magnitude greater than pristine C70 and fullerene C70 cubes not containing mesoporous nanorods.

A Comparative Account of the Kinetics of Light-Induced E-Z Isomerization of an Anthracene-Based Organogelator in Sol, Gel, Xerogel, and Powder States: Fiber to Crystal Transformation.

The organogel of (E)-N'-(anthracene-10-ylmethylene)-3,4,5-tris(dodecyloxy)benzohydrazide (I) in methyl cyclohexane having a fibrillar network structure exhibits excellent fluorescence, which decreases sharply with time upon photoirradiation at λ = 365 nm. It has been attributed to the transformation of the E isomer of I to the Z isomer, and the kinetics of E-Z isomerization are compared for the sol, gel, xerogel, and powder states. The rate constants at different temperatures are measured from Avrami plots and its increase with an increase in temperature, indicating temperature acts as a promoter for photoirradiated E-Z isomeization along the imine (C═N) bond. In the powder form, the rate constant values are the lowest compared to those of other states for all temperatures and the xerogels exhibit the highest rate of E-Z isomerization. The rate constants of sol and gel states mostly lie between the two. The wide-angle X-ray scattering pattern changes after ultraviolet (UV) irradiation with the generation of new sharp peaks whose intensities increase with an increase in irradiation time. A polarized optical microscopic study indicates formation of small crystalline dots on the fibers in the gels, dendritic morphology on the xerogel fibers, and large needlelike morphology at the surface boundary of the solid. The dried I gel exhibits a melting peak at 96.7 °C, but upon irradiation, two peaks are observed at 98.5 and 152.7 °C; the latter has been attributed to the melting of crystals of Z isomers. Similar higher melting peaks are observed both for the xerogel and for powders after UV irradiation; the powders exhibit the highest meting peak at 159.4 °C. Possible reasons for the variation of rate constant values in the four different states and the difference in morphology and melting points of crystals of Z isomers of I are discussed.

Nanoengineering of a Supramolecular Gel by Copolymer Incorporation: Enhancement of Gelation Rate, Mechanical Property, Fluorescence, and Conductivity.

In the quest to engineer the nanofibrillar morphology of folic acid (F) gel, poly(4-vinylpyridine-co-styrene) (PVPS) is judiciously integrated as a polymeric additive because of its potential to form H-bonding and π-stacking with F. The hybrid gels are designated as F-PVPSx gels, where x denotes the amount of PVPS (mg) added in 2 mL of F gel (0.3%, w/v). The assistance of PVPS in the gelation of F is manifested from the drop in critical gelation concentration and increased fiber diameter and branching of F-PVPSx gels compared to that of F gel. PVPS induces a magnificent improvement of mechanical properties: a 500 times increase of storage modulus and ∼62 times increase of yield stress in the F-PVPS5 gel compared to the F gel. The complex modulus also increases with increasing PVPS concentration with a maximum in F-PVPS5 gel. Creep recovery experiments suggest PVPS induced elasticity in the otherwise viscous F gel. The fluorescence intensity of F-PVPSx gels at first increases with increasing PVPS concentration showing maxima at F-PVPS5 gel and then slowly decreases. Gelation is monitored by time-dependent fluorescence spectroscopy, and it is observed that F and F-PVPSx gels exhibit perfectly opposite trend; the former shows a sigmoidal decrease in fluorescence intensity during gelation, but the latter shows a sigmoidal increase. The gelation rate constants calculated from Avrami treatment on the time-dependent fluorescence data manifest that PVPS effectively enhances the gelation rate showing a maximum for F-PVPS5 gel. The hybrid gel exhibit 5 orders increase of dc conductivity than that of F-gel showing semiconducting nature in the current-voltage plot. The Nyquist plot in impedance spectra of F-PVPS5 xerogel exhibit a depressed semicircle with a spike at lower frequency region, and the equivalent circuit represents a complex combination of resistance-capacitance circuits attributed to the hybrid morphology of the gel fibers.

Light induced E-Z isomerization in a multi-responsive organogel: elucidation from (1)H NMR spectroscopy.

A multiresponsive organogel of (E)-N'-(anthracene-10-ylmethylene)-3,4,5-tris(dodecyloxy)benzohydrazide (I) showed a decrease of fluorescence intensity, decrease in mechanical strength and a change in gel morphology on irradiation with a wavelength of 365 nm. This is attributed to the E-Z isomerization across the C=N bond of I as evidenced from (1)H NMR spectroscopy.

Integration of poly(ethylene glycol) in N-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-l-tryptophan hydrogel influencing mechanical, thixotropic, and release properties.

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is incorporated to improve the mechanical properties of N-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-l-tryptophan (FT) hydrogel producing the hybrid (FTP) gels designated as FTP1, FTP2.5, etc. having PEG concentrations of 0.05 and 0.125% (w/v), respectively. Both the FT and FTP1 gels exhibit fibrillar network morphology; the fibers of the FTP1 gel are thinner than those of the FT gel. FTP gels exhibit a magnificent improvement in mechanical properties, and the storage and complex moduli increase with a maximum of ∼2800% for the FTP2.5 gel. Creep recovery experiment exhibits a maximum strain recovery of 90% for the FTP1 gel. The thixotropic property is observed for both FT and FTP gels and the rate of recovery increases with increase of PEG concentration; the latter acts as a molecular adhesive to the gel fibers bringing back the network structure easily. Gelation of FT causes a 5-fold increase of fluorescence intensity due to molecular aggregation, and with increase of FT concentration the ratio of fluorescence intensities at 470 and 395 nm increases. Exploiting the thixotropic property of FT and FTP hybrid gels, doxorubicin (DOX) is successfully encapsulated, and tunable release of DOX using appropriate amount of PEG in the gel matrix under physiological conditions is observed.

Co-assembled conductive hydrogel of N-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl phenylalanine with polyaniline.

A metastable coassembled hydrogel of N-Fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) phenylalanine (FP) with aniline (FP-ANI), upon polymerization, produces a stable green-colored coassembled FP-polyaniline (FP-PANI) hydrogel. The coassembly is produced by supramolecular interactions between FP and ANI/PANI. WAXS spectra suggest that structures of FP powder, FP-ANI, and FP-PANI xerogels are different from each other. The FP-ANI gel exhibits a mixture of doughnut and fiber morphology, but the FP-PANI gel exhibits a nanotubular morphology. UV-vis spectroscopy suggests that the doped state of PANI and the fluorescence property of FP completely vanish in the FP-PANI gel. The storage and loss modulii (G' and G″) of the FP-PANI gel are higher than those of the FP-ANI gel. The FP-ANI gel breaks at a lower oscillator stress (57 Pa) than the FP-PANI gel (93 Pa), which exhibits a good strain recovery demonstrating excellent viscoelastic properties. The FP-PANI gel also exhibits a dc conductivity (1.2 × 10(-2) S·cm(-1)) that is seven orders higher than that of the FP-ANI gel because of the doped nature of PANI. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristic curve of FP-PANI xerogel resembles the behavior of a semiconductor-metal junction, and upon white light irradiation, it exhibits a reversible on-off cycle with a constant photocurrent value of 0.1 mA. The Nyquist plot obtained from impedance measurements of the FP-PANI xerogel is different from that obtained for the FP-ANI xerogel, and it exhibits almost a semicircle, indicating the existence of both resistive and capacitive features connected in parallel mode.

A thixotropic supramolecular hydrogel of adenine and riboflavin-5'-phosphate sodium salt showing enhanced fluorescence properties.

An equimolar mixture of riboflavin-5'-phosphate sodium salt (RP) and adenine (AD) dissolved in a phosphate buffer (pH 4.0, 1.0% w/v) produces a red coloured transparent thixotropic hydrogel at 30 °C. The gelation of the RPAD system occurs in the pH range of 2­5. FTIR spectra and WAXS patterns indicate self-assembly via H-bonding between the >C=O group of RP and the amino/imino group of AD followed by supramolecular organization through a π-stacking process producing a fibrillar network structure. FESEM images clearly indicate that the nanofibres are produced from the intertwining of helical fibrils. The dynamic frequency sweep experiment of the supramolecular gel at a constant strain of 1% exhibits a wide linear viscoelastic region and a considerably higher G' value (460 Pa) than that of G'' (21 Pa) confirming the gel nature of the RPAD system. The hydrogel shows high stiffness (G'/G'' = 3.3), a high yield stress (σ*) (79.5 Pa) and a moderate critical strain (γ = 17.5%). Time sweep experiments at both low (0.1%) and high strain (100%) indicate the thixotropic property of the gel. The RPAD hydrogel shows non-Newtonian viscosity in the shear rate region (0.1­158 s(−1)) and after that there is a sudden fall of viscosity. The gel melting point obtained by the falling ball method is 6° higher than that obtained by the DSC method probably due to the presence of the thixotropic property of the gel. The UV-vis spectra indicate a red shift of the π­π* transition band of RP in the RPAD xerogel. On excitation of the RPAD hydrogel at 373 nm it shows twelve times enhancement of emission intensity with a 7 nm red shift of the emission peak. This has been attributed to the enhancement of lifetime from 2.2 ns in RP to 3.4 ns in the RPAD hydrogel. With increase of temperature, the fluorescence intensity of the RPAD hydrogel at first increases till 40 °C, then decreases up to 55 °C and it again increases after 60 °C.

A co-assembled gel of a pyromellitic dianhydride derivative and polyaniline with optoelectronic and photovoltaic properties.

5,5'-(1,3,5,7-Tetraoxopyrrolo[3,4-f]isoindole-2,6-diyl)diisophthalic acid (PMDIG) is used to produce a supramolecular hydrogel via acid-base treatment. The field emission scanning electron micrograph and atomic force microscopy micrographs exhibit a fibrillar network structure from intermolecular supramolecular interaction, supported from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and UV-vis spectra. The fluorescence intensity of the PMDIG gel is 16 times higher than that of the sodium salt of PMDIG with a 42 nm red shift of the emission peak. Upon addition of an anilinium chloride solution to the PMDIG gel, it transforms into the sol, and when a solid ammonium persulfate is spread over it, a stable hydrogel is produced. The co-assembled PMDIG-polyaniline (PANI) gel exhibits a fibrillar network morphology, and the co-assembly is formed by the supramolecular interaction between the polyaniline (donor) and the PMDIG (acceptor) molecules, which is evident from FTIR spectra and wide angle X-ray scattering results. The UV-vis spectrum of the PMDIG-PANI hydrogel exhibits the characteristic peaks of polaron band transitions of the doped PANI. The PMDIG-PANI co-assembled hydrogel has a 51-fold higher storage modulus, a 52-fold higher elasticity, a 1.4-fold increase in stiffness, and a 5-fold increase of fragility compared to the values of the PMDIG hydrogel. The PMDIG-PANI xerogel exhibits a 4 order of magnitude increase in dc conductivity compared to that of PMDIG, and the I-V characteristic curve exhibits a rectification property under white light illumination showing photocurrent rectification, a new phenomenon reported here for the supramolecular gel systems. A dye-sensitized solar cell fabricated with an ITO/PMDIG-PANI/graphite device shows a power conversion efficiency (η) of 0.1%. A discussion of the mechanism of gel formation and the sol state of the PMDIG-aniline system is included considering the contact angle values of the xerogels.