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Synthesis of Information-bearing Peptoids and their Sequence-directed Dynamic Covalent Self-assembly
Published on: February 6, 2020
Synthesis of supramolecular polymers by ionic self-assembly of oppositely charged dyes
Ying Guan1, Shu-Hong Yu, Markus Antonietti
1Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Research Campus Golm, 14424 Potsdam, Germany.
Abstract:
A new type of supramolecular polymer was prepared by ionic self-assembly (ISA) from two oppositely charged dyes; a perylenediimide and a copper-phthalocyanine derivative. Coulomb coupling stabilizes the whole structure, and a combination of charge-transfer interactions and discotic stacking facilitates the exclusive formation of one-dimensional polymeric chains. The supramolecular dye-polymers have a large association constant (2.4 x 10(7) L mol(-1)), high molecular weight, and high mechanical stability. The use of cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) confirmed the existence of extended fibers of width 2.4 nm. Further image analysis revealed slight undulation and faint segmentation of the fibers, and density maxima were observed at a regular interval of 3.6 nm along the fiber axis. The fiber-like structure (and aggregate of fibers) is also found in the solid state, as shown by the results of mineralization contrasting experiments, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray analyses. A structural model is proposed, in which the structural subunits, arranged in a side-by-side conformation, form a stacked structure.
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Most macromolecules are composed of single subunits, or building blocks, called monomers. The monomers combine with each other using covalent bonds to form larger molecules known as polymers.
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