title: Halogen-bonded mesogens direct polymer self-assemblies up to millimetre length scale.
abstract: Aligning polymeric nanostructures up to macroscale in facile ways remains a challenge in materials science and technology. Here we show polymeric self-assemblies where nanoscale organization guides the macroscopic alignment up to millimetre scale. The concept is shown by halogen bonding mesogenic 1-iodoperfluoroalkanes to a star-shaped ethyleneglycol-based polymer, having chloride end-groups. The mesogens segregate and stack parallel into aligned domains. This leads to layers at ~10 nm periodicity. Combination of directionality of halogen bonding, mesogen parallel stacking and minimization of interfacial curvature translates into an overall alignment in bulk and films up to millimetre scale. Upon heating, novel supramolecular halogen-bonded polymeric liquid crystallinity is also shown. As many polymers present sites capable of receiving halogen bonding, we suggest generic potential of this strategy for aligning polymer self-assemblies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University (formerly Helsinki University of Technology), PO Box 15100, FI-02150 Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Nikolay
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Houbenov
authors.affiliation: Process Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, PO Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT, Finland.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Milani
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University (formerly Helsinki University of Technology), PO Box 15100, FI-02150 Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Mikko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poutanen
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University (formerly Helsinki University of Technology), PO Box 15100, FI-02150 Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haataja
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Nanostructured Fluorinated Materials (NFMLab), Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano, Via Mancinelli 7, I-20131 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dichiarante
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University (formerly Helsinki University of Technology), PO Box 15100, FI-02150 Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Jani
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sainio
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University (formerly Helsinki University of Technology), PO Box 15100, FI-02150 Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Janne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruokolainen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Nanostructured Fluorinated Materials (NFMLab), Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano, Via Mancinelli 7, I-20131 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Resnati
authors.affiliation: 1] Process Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, PO Box 1000, FI-02044 VTT, Finland [2] Laboratory of Nanostructured Fluorinated Materials (NFMLab), Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta", Politecnico di Milano, Via Mancinelli 7, I-20131 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Pierangelo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Metrangolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University (formerly Helsinki University of Technology), PO Box 15100, FI-02150 Espoo, Finland.
authors.forename: Olli
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ikkala