An Air‐Stable Organometallic Low‐Molecular‐Mass Gelator: Synthesis, Aggregation, and Catalytic Application of a Palladium Pincer Complex

An efficient organometallic gelator can gel a variety of organic solvents even in concentrations as low as 0.2 wt %. π Stacking of the heteroarene moieties, van der Waals interactions between the alkyl chains, and metal–metal interactions may be responsible for the aggregation. This palladium pincer bis(carbene) complex (see scheme) is the first air-stable organometallic low-molecular-mass gelator that reveals promising catalytic activity in the gel state.