Characterization and mechanism study of micrometer-sized secondary assembly of β-cyclodextrin

We herein report a β-cyclodextrin-based secondary assembly (β-CD SA) obtained from an aqueous solution. It was found that the addition of a very small amount of organic molecule 2-phenyl-5-(4-diphenylyl) 1,3,4-oxadiazole (PBD) into an aqueous solution of 10 mM β-CD led to the formation of a micrometer-sized rodlike SA, which made the mixture turbid immediately. After careful characterization, the structure and the formation mechanism of the β-CD SA were suggested. PBD first induces β-CDs to form rigid nanotubes through head-to-head or tail-to-tail routes. Using the "solid" nanotubes as recrystallization centers, other β-CDs assembled to channel in the c axis direction and hexagonally aligned in the b axis direction, leading to the formation of a β-CD SA. In the β-CD SA, most of the β-CDs were not occupied by PBD. In the course of formation , intermolecular hydrogen-bonding plays a prominent role. The results reported herein would be helpful in constructing cyclodextrin-based architectures in water.