title: Self-Assembly of a Tripod Aromatic Rod into Stacked Planar Networks.
abstract: Threefold symmetric rigid-core molecules with an internally grafted poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) chain were synthesized, and their self-assembled structures were characterized using differential scanning calorimetry, TEM, and 1D and 2D X-ray scatterings in the solid state. The tripod compounds based on short PEO chains (n=8, 13, 17, 21), self-assemble into 2D channel-like network structures, whereas the compound with the longest PEO chain (n=34) forms a lamellar liquid crystalline phase. The interiors of the channel structures are filled with flexible PEO chains along the double-walled aromatic circumference. In these channel-like networks, three aromatic rods connected in the meta-position to each other are superimposed in parallel to other adjacent molecules to form the double-walled aromatic frameworks stacked perpendicular to the resulting channels. These are novel examples of supramolecular channel-like structures developed using amphiphilic diblock molecules based on a threefold symmetric rigid scaffold.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759 (Korea).
authors.forename: Ho-Joong
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China).
authors.forename: Yongju
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757 (Korea).
authors.forename: Sung
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun 130012 (China). mslee@jlu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Myongsoo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lee
keywords: channel nanostructure; planar network; self-assembly; supramolecular chemistry; tripod amphiphile