Ordered supramolecular gels based on graphene oxide and tetracationic cyclophanes.

: A new strategy to form ordered hierarchical supramolecular gels that incorporate graphene oxide (GO) sheets and cationic rigid macrocyles under mild conditions via self-assembly is demonstrated. These ordered gels are stabilized by a series of non-covalent - donor-acceptor, π-π stacking, cation-π - interactions. These theoretical studies indicate that cationic macrocycles are positioned in between GO layers with a substantial binding energy.