title: Synthesis of supramolecular polymers by ionic self-assembly of oppositely charged dyes.
abstract: A new type of supramolecular polymer was prepared by ionic self-assembly (ISA) from two oppositely charged dyes; a perylenediimide and a copper-phthalocyanine derivative. Coulomb coupling stabilizes the whole structure, and a combination of charge-transfer interactions and discotic stacking facilitates the exclusive formation of one-dimensional polymeric chains. The supramolecular dye-polymers have a large association constant (2.4 x 10(7) L mol(-1)), high molecular weight, and high mechanical stability. The use of cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) confirmed the existence of extended fibers of width 2.4 nm. Further image analysis revealed slight undulation and faint segmentation of the fibers, and density maxima were observed at a regular interval of 3.6 nm along the fiber axis. The fiber-like structure (and aggregate of fibers) is also found in the solid state, as shown by the results of mineralization contrasting experiments, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray analyses. A structural model is proposed, in which the structural subunits, arranged in a side-by-side conformation, form a stacked structure.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Research Campus Golm, 14424 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.forename: Shu-Hong
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Antonietti
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Böttcher
authors.forename: Charl F J
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Faul