title: Self-assembly. Selective assemblies of giant tetrahedra via precisely controlled positional interactions.
abstract: Self-assembly of rigid building blocks with explicit shape and symmetry is substantially influenced by the geometric factors and remains largely unexplored. We report the selective assembly behaviors of a class of precisely defined, nanosized giant tetrahedra constructed by placing different polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) molecular nanoparticles at the vertices of a rigid tetrahedral framework. Designed symmetry breaking of these giant tetrahedra introduces precise positional interactions and results in diverse selectively assembled, highly ordered supramolecular lattices including a Frank-Kasper A15 phase, which resembles the essential structural features of certain metal alloys but at a larger length scale. These results demonstrate the power of persistent molecular geometry with balanced enthalpy and entropy in creating thermodynamically stable supramolecular lattices with properties distinct from those of other self-assembling soft materials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Mingjun
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Chih-Hao
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mei
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Xuehui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Yiwen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Mingxuan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Engineering, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
authors.forename: Takuzo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aida
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics of Ministry of Education, Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, P.R. China. scheng@uakron.edu ky13@zips.uakron.edu wenbin@pku.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Wen-Bin
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA. scheng@uakron.edu ky13@zips.uakron.edu wenbin@pku.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Kan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325, USA. scheng@uakron.edu ky13@zips.uakron.edu wenbin@pku.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Stephen Z D
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Cheng