Self-organization of polymerizable bolaamphiphiles bearing diacetylene mesogenic group

We report herein the synthesis of a series of polymerizable bolaamphiphiles containing a diacetylene group and mesogenic unit and their self-organization behaviors in bulk and at interface. The polymerizable bolaamphiphiles are noted as DPDA-n, where n refers to the spacer length of alkyl chain. DPDA-10 with suitable spacer length can self-organize into stable cylindrical micellar nanostructures, and these nanostructures have preferred orientation regionally when adsorbed at the mica/water interface. It is confirmed that the micellar nanostructure of DPDA-10 can be polymerized both in the bulk solution and in the film by UV irradiation. The emission property of DPDA-10 after UV irradiation has been significantly enhanced in comparison to that before polymerization, which may be due to the extension of the conjugated system arising from the transformation of the diacetylene group into polydiacetylene upon polymerization. In addition, the self-organization of DPDA-n is dependent on the spacer length. DPDA-7 with a short spacer length forms an irregular flat sheet structure with many defects; DPDA-15 with a long spacer length forms rodlike micellar structures. Thus, this work may provide a new approach for designing and fabricating organic functional nanostructured materials.