Triazole Linked N‑Acetylglucosamine Based Gelators for Crude Oil Separation and Dye Removal

Marine oil-spills have a long-lasting impact on the environment; therefore, it is a major concern in the scientific community to find a solution for remediation. Recently, phase selective organo-gelators emerged as potential materials for removal of oil from water through selective gelation. Herein, we report synthesis of a series of C-6 triazole linked N-acetylglucosamine derivatives, among which three have shown excellent selective gelation of organic solvents, diesel, petrol, and crude oils in water and seawater. We have studied phase selective gelation against different API grade crude oils (from light to heavy), and the gelation was achieved using nontoxic carrier solvent at room temperature in less than 15 min, and gelators were found useful for recovering crude oils. Critical gel concentration (CGC) of crude oil gelators was found to be 2.3–12% (w/v). The variable temperature NMR and FTIR experiments reveal that intermolecular hydrogen bonding was responsible for gel formation. Furthermore, a gelator was utilized for selective dye removal from water.