Cholesteryl-Modified Amino Acid-Derived Organogelators: Their Versatile Removal Behaviors toward Various Organic Pollutants in Contaminated Water

The development of techniques for removing organic pollutants from water is of great practical significance for improving the human living environment. Low-molecular-weight organogelators (LMWOGs) can remove organic pollutants from water through multiple mechanisms. In this work, we report two amino acid-based gelators (CH-1 and CH-2) bearing a cholesteryl group, synthesized through a single-step procedure, both of which could form gels in several organic liquids. Systematic testing showed that these two gelators can remove various organic pollutants from water using different methods. Gelator CH-2 can directly use its powder to adsorb paraquat, achieving a removal efficiency of over 96%. CH-1 not only serves as a phase-selective gelator in powder form to remove undissolved nitrobenzene from water but also effectively removes the majority of dissolved nitrobenzene. Moreover, the removal efficiency of 88% significantly exceeds that of previously reported data. Additionally, the gel obtained from CH-1 in methyl benzoate, when used in a gel column, can rapidly and effectively remove phenol from water. Overall, the developed gelators, with advantages such as simple synthesis, environmental friendliness, reusability, and efficient decontamination, show great potential for applications in the removal of organic pollutants.