title: Helical supramolecular aggregates based on ureidopyrimidinone quadruple hydrogen bonding.
abstract: A series of mono- and bifunctional compounds 2-7, based on the ureido pyrimidinone quadruple hydrogen bonding unit, was prepared to study the mode of aggregation of these compounds in the bulk and in solution. Compounds 2-7 exhibit thermotropic liquid crystalline properties, as evidenced by differential scanning calorimetry and optical polarization microscopy. The presence of an ordered hexagonal discotic (D(ho)) phase of 2 a was confirmed by X-ray diffraction on an aligned sample. In chloroform, the bifunctional compounds form cyclic dimers at millimolar concentrations, and these dimers exist in equilibrium with linear species above a critical concentration, which may be from 6 mM to greater than 260 mM, depending on the structure of the spacer. Circular dichroism measurements in chloroform did not show a Cotton effect. Dodecane solutions of compounds 3, 4 b, and 7 b display a Cotton effect at the absorption band of the phenyl-pyrimidinone unit. Amplification of chirality was observed in mixtures of 7 a and 7 b, but not in mixtures of 4 a and 4 b, indicating that 7 a and 7 b form mixed polymeric aggregates with a helical architecture in dodecane solution, whereas 4 a and 4 b do not. The Cotton effect is lost upon increasing the temperature. Half of the helicity is lost at 25 degrees C for 3 and at 60 degrees C for 4 b, suggesting that 3, bearing the shorter spacer, forms less stable columns than 4 b. Compound 7 b loses half of its helicity at 45 degrees C. Compounds 2 b, 5, and 6 do not exhibit helical organization, as evidenced by the absence of Cotton effects.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513 5600 MB, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J H K Ky
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Hirschberg
authors.forename: Rolf A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Koevoets
authors.forename: Rint P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Sijbesma
authors.forename: E W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Meijer
mesh_terms: D002152:Calorimetry, Differential Scanning; D002942:Circular Dichroism; D004058:Diffusion; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D011744:Pyrimidinones / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature; D013816:Thermodynamics; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D011744:Pyrimidinones