Supramolecular design for two-component hydrogels with intrinsic emission in the visible region

We report, for the first time, an in situ formation of two-component hydrogels from pyridine derivatives of poly(aryl ether) dendrons and tartaric acid. The two-component system (dendron + acid) undergoes J-type aggregation, leading to fibrillar type self-assembly in THF–water mixture along with blue (470 nm) and green (500 nm) intrinsic emissions. © 2013 The Royal Society of Chemistry.