Aqueous self-assembly of chromophore-conjugated amphiphiles.
The self-assembly of π-conjugated building blocks has been a topic of interest in last few years owing to their close relevance to optoelectronic device applications. If such building blocks are made amphiphilic by appropriate derivatization, then the self-assembly can be realized in water by the strong hydrophobic repulsive forces between the polar medium and the rigid π-surface. On the other hand, as π-π interactions are directional, such self-assembly can produce structurally precise nano-structures, compared to classical surfactants. With these objectives, the self-assembly of several amphiphilic π-systems has been studied in the recent past and is described in this article. Examples include electron-deficient, electron-rich and also mixed assemblies of donor and acceptor type chromophores which produce many elegant soft structures such as micelles, vesicle, nanotubes and fibres etc.
Polymer Science Unit, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A and 2B Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Kolkata, 700032, India. psusg2@iacs.res.in.
Mijanur Rahaman
MR
Molla
Suhrit
S
Ghosh
D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D004583:Electrons; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008823:Micelles; D008958:Models, Molecular; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
D004396:Coloring Agents; D008823:Micelles; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D014867:Water