title: Using a facile experimental manipulation to fabricate and tune a polyoxometalate-cholesterol hybrid material.
abstract: In this work, we describe how the toluene and DMF addition order influences the gelation behaviors and supramolecular structures of a self-assembled polyoxometalate-cholesterol hybrid. Morphological studies of the dried xerogel samples were performed with transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, revealing that the order of solvent addition directed the self-assembly of polyoxometalate-cholesterol hybrids toward the formation of organogels with different supramolecular structures. In the case of organogel 1, which was formed by adding DMF dropwise into a hybrid-containing toluene solution, the characteristic organogel morphology contained a three-dimensional fibrous network structure. Meanwhile, organogel 2, which was prepared by adding toluene dropwise into a hybrid-containing DMF solution, had a supramolecular structure made up of short ribbons. Based on these results, a mechanism is proposed to illustrate the distinctly different self-assembly mechanisms of hybrid molecules in the formation of organogels 1 and 2. Importantly, the order of solvent addition plays a central role in the aggregation process. This study provides a rational method for the construction of supramolecular soft materials, and can be extended to other self-assembled systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, School of Science, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, Shanxi, PR China. Electronic address: haikuanyang@nuc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hai-Kuan
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, School of Science, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, Shanxi, PR China.
authors.forename: Ling-Ling
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, School of Science, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, Shanxi, PR China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, School of Science, North University of China, Taiyuan 030051, Shanxi, PR China.
authors.forename: Shi-Mei
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Wu
keywords: Hybrid material; Organogel; Polyoxometalate; Self-assembly