Non-covalent synthesis of supermicelles with complex architectures using spatially confined hydrogen-bonding interactions.
Nature uses orthogonal interactions over different length scales to construct structures with hierarchical levels of order and provides an important source of inspiration for the creation of synthetic functional materials. Here, we report the programmed assembly of monodisperse cylindrical block comicelle building blocks with crystalline cores to create supermicelles using spatially confined hydrogen-bonding interactions. We also demonstrate that it is possible to further program the self-assembly of these synthetic building blocks into structures of increased complexity by combining hydrogen-bonding interactions with segment solvophobicity. The overall approach offers an efficient, non-covalent synthesis method for the solution-phase fabrication of a range of complex and potentially functional supermicelle architectures in which the crystallization, hydrogen-bonding and solvophobic interactions are combined in an orthogonal manner.
School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK.
Xiaoyu
X
Li
School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK.
Yang
Y
Gao
School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK.
Charlotte E
CE
Boott
Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada.
Mitchell A
MA
Winnik
School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK.
Ian
I
Manners