{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T04:43:41Z","timestamp":1787028221785,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":56,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,10]],"date-time":"2022-01-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1641772800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Gels"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Herein, aggregation behaviors of melem or melamine in the presence of three symmetric carboxylic acids (1,3,5-tris(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene (TPCA), 1,3,5-benzene-tri-carboxylic acid (BTA) and 1,3,5-cyclohexane-tri-carboxylic acid (CHTA)) have been performed to check the influence of acid on the formation of aggregated structures which have been investigated by optical microscopy, FESEM, FTIR, XRD and viscoelastic properties have been explored with rheological studies. Interestingly, melem, that has limited solubility in aqueous medium, forms aggregation that leads to the formation of hydrogels with TPCA. More significantly, hydrogel is formed here by matching the size selectivity. Melem forms hydrogel with only large tricarboxylic acid, whereas melamine produces hydrogel with any kind of its counterpart from small to large tricarboxylic acid derivatives. Present investigations and results provide the strategy of design of organic self-assembled materials having two component systems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/gels8010051","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,10]],"date-time":"2022-01-10T17:42:25Z","timestamp":1641836545000},"page":"51","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Effect of Tricarboxylic Acids on the Formation of Hydrogels with Melem or Melamine: Morphological, Structural and Rheological Investigations"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"8","author":[{"given":"Pradip Kumar","family":"Sukul","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Amity Institute of Applied Sciences, Amity University Kolkata, Action Area-II, Kolkata 700135, India"},{"name":"School of Applied and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A & 2B Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Kolkata 700032, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5498-1885","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Puspendu","family":"Das","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Applied and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A & 2B Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Kolkata 700032, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gopal Lal","family":"Dhakar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Applied and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A & 2B Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Kolkata 700032, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lalmohan","family":"Das","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Applied and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A & 2B Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Kolkata 700032, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5358-5653","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sudip","family":"Malik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Applied and Interdisciplinary Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A & 2B Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Kolkata 700032, India"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3133","DOI":"10.1021\/cr9700282","article-title":"Low molecular mass gelators of organic liquids and the properties of their gels","volume":"97","author":"Terech","year":"1997","journal-title":"Chem. 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