Aggregation of a C60-didodecyloxybenzene dyad: structure, dynamics, and mechanism of vesicle growth.
The mechanism of formation and the stability of spontaneously formed vesicles upon self-assembly of a partially ground-state charge-separated, nonpolar-polar-nonpolar fullerene(C60)-didodecyloxybenzene (DDB) dyad in binary solvent mixtures requiring a critical dielectric constant of approximately 30 are reported. Molecular interactions giving rise to defined vesicles with in-plane bilayer packing are detailed from the predominant van der Waals and electrostatic interactions existing on the dyad's framework. The vesicles are formed with a large bending rigidity of 18kBT, which on further extraction into a polar water medium resulted in uniform spheres that corroborated well with the theoretical predictions. Furthermore, the water-extracted spherical dyad aggregates at an increased dyad concentration, leading to the formation of giant micrometer-sized fractals following diffusion-limited cluster aggregation. These dyad aggregates act as efficient quenchers of fluorescent dyes with a quenching rate of 4.6 x 10(13) M(-1) s(-1).
Gayathri
S Shankara
SS
Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India.
Patnaik
Archita
A
D001555:Benzene Derivatives / Q000737:chemistry*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D037741:Fullerenes / Q000737:chemistry*; D005663:Furans / Q000737:chemistry; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission / Q000379:methods; D008956:Models, Chemical; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010316:Particle Size; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods; D013056:Spectrophotometry, Ultraviolet / Q000379:methods; D055672:Static Electricity; D013499:Surface Properties; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
D001555:Benzene Derivatives; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D037741:Fullerenes; D005663:Furans; D012997:Solvents; C520174:fullerene C60 didodecyloxybenzene; D014867:Water; C018674:tetrahydrofuran; C069837:fullerene C60