Synthesis of 4-cis-butyl-1-arylcyclohexanamine and Examination of 4-tert-butyl-1-arylcyclohexanamine as a Gelling Agent

Agents capable of gelling organic liquids comprise a special area of chemistry because our understanding of gel formation is still relatively unknown. Even now, such materials are typically discovered inadvertently. Although there are many well-known aqueous gels, gelled organic phases are much rarer and less understood. These materials are of interest because gels represent something between the liquid and solid phase. Although various organic gelling agents may have different properties (potency, range of liquids gelled, clarity of gels), the gels are all characterized by cross-linking that creates a 3D network. trans-4-Tert-butyl-1-arylcyclohexanol is an organic gelling agent discovered at Baylor. The goal of this project is to synthesize the corresponding amine, trans-4-tert-butyl-1-arylcyclohexanamine, and to determine whether it also exhibits gelling properties .