title: Formation of Coaxial Nanocables with Amplified Supramolecular Chirality through an Interaction between Carbon Nanotubes and a Chiral π-Gelator.
abstract: In an attempt to gather experimental evidence for the influence of carbon allotropes on supramolecular chirality, we found that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) facilitate amplification of the molecular chirality of a π-gelator (MC-OPV) to supramolecular helicity at a concentration much lower than that required for intermolecular interaction. For example, at a concentration 1.8×10(-4)  m, MC-OPV did not exhibit a CD signal; however, the addition of 0-0.6 mg of SWNTs resulted in amplified chirality as evident from the CD spectrum. Surprisingly, AFM analysis revealed the formation of thick helical fibers with a width of more than 100 nm. High-resolution TEM analysis and solid-state UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy revealed that the thick helical fibers were cylindrical cables composed of individually wrapped and coaxially aligned SWNTs. Such an impressive effect of CNTs on supramolecular chirality and cylindrical-cable formation has not been reported previously.
authors.affiliation: Photosciences and Photonics Section, Chemical Sciences and Technology Division and Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, 695 019, India.
authors.forename: Balaraman
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7785-136X
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vedhanarayanan
authors.affiliation: Photosciences and Photonics Section, Chemical Sciences and Technology Division and Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, 695 019, India.
authors.forename: Vishnu S
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7160-4843
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.affiliation: Photosciences and Photonics Section, Chemical Sciences and Technology Division and Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, 695 019, India.
authors.forename: Vijayakumar C
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5347-6799
authors.initials: VC
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.affiliation: Photosciences and Photonics Section, Chemical Sciences and Technology Division and Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, 695 019, India. ajayaghosh@niist.res.in.
authors.forename: Ayyappanpillai
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8574-5391
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ajayaghosh
keywords: CD spectroscopy; carbon nanotubes; chirality; self-assembly; π-gelators