Final Examination for the Degree of MSc Food Science - Pedram Nasr
Date and Time
Location
Webex meeting - by invitation sent from candidate; email candidate for invite.
Details
Examining Committee
Dr. Donald Mercer, Chair
Dr. Michael Rogers, Advisor
Dr. Maria Corradini, Advisory Committee Member
Dr. Loong-Tak Lim, Department Member
TITLE: MOLECULAR FEATURES OF 1,3:2,4 DIBENZYLIDENE-D-SORBITOL (DBS) THAT DRIVE SELF-ASSEMBLY
ABSTRACT:
Dibenzylidene-D-sorbitol (DBS) is the most well-known molecule among the gelators because of its potential to produce a gel across a broad range of organic solvents. Chemical modification of DBS in this study shows how hydrogen bonding on different carbon positions alters the Hansen space attributed to gelation and helps us in better understanding molecular driving forces governing molecular gels. These newly synthesized molecules alter a single functional group, one at a time, to assess the forming hydrogen bonding network while keeping maintaining the remaining structure of DBS. To assess the role of hydrogen bonding at the primary and secondary alcohols of DBS, each hydroxyl group was acetylated selectively. Furthermore, selective deoxygenation of each hydroxyl group was performed to completely eliminate hydrogen bonding at either the primary or secondary alcohol groups.