title: Nanohybrids from liquid crystalline extended amphiphilic dendrimers.
abstract: A novel extended amphiphilic dendrimer with linear poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) attached to a PEO-like dendritic core as hydrophilic fraction and eight docosyl chain branches as hydrophobic fraction has been prepared for the use as structure-directing agent for silica-type materials. The extended dendrimer exhibits a hexagonal columnar liquid crystalline phase in the melt. Organically modified inorganic precursors and the extended dendrimer co-assemble into nanostructured hybrids. Hybrids with 0.44 weight fraction (fw) of aluminosilicate show a lamellar morphology, while hybrids with 0.21 fw exhibit a cylindrical structure. Nanostructures were characterized by a combination of small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results suggest that dendrimer-based amphiphiles may provide an exciting platform for the formation of multifunctional organic-inorganic nanostructured hybrid materials with unique structural characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca New York, USA.
authors.forename: Byoung-Ki
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Anurag
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.forename: Surbhi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mahajan
authors.forename: Hooisweng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ow
authors.forename: Sol M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Gruner
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Wiesner