Electrochemical probing of hydrogelation induced by the self-assembly of a donor-acceptor complex comprising pyranine and viologen.

A long-tailed methyl viologen (DMV) forms a co-assembly (1 : 1) with pyranine to result in pronounced hydrogelation. The systematic evolution of the hydrogel promoted by the donor-acceptor interactions could be probed electrochemically in a non-invasive manner.