Selective binding of hydrogen chloride and its trapping through supramolecular gelationElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4cc02300e

A pyridine containing amino acid based gelator forms gel in aqueous media in the presence of hydrochloric acid and the chloride ion is found to be very selective for gelation. The gelator is successfully applied for the detection and trapping of hydrogen chloride gas and this indicates its probable application for removing hazardous HCl gas from the environment. A pyridine containing amino acid based new gelator has been discovered. The amphiphilic gelator forms the gel selectively in the presence of hydrochloric acid. This indicates that the chloride ion has a key role in gelation and this selectivity has been applied successfully for the detection and trapping of hydrogen chloride gas in gel medium.