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Updated: May 1, 2026

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
Liquid crystalline assembly of coil-rod-coil molecules with lateral methyl groups into 3-D hexagonal and tetragonal
Zhuoshi Wang1, Yu Lan2, Keli Zhong3
1Key Laboratory for Organism Resources of the Changbai Mountain and Functional Molecules, Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Yanbian University, No.977 Gongyuan Road, Yanji 133002, China. 2013010407@ybu.edu.cn.
Abstract:
In this paper, we report the synthesis and self-assembly behavior of coil-rod-coil molecules, consisting of three biphenyls linked through a vinylene unit as a conjugated rod segment and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) with a degree of polymerization (DP) of 7, 12 and 17, incorporating lateral methyl groups between the rod and coil segments as the coil segment. Self-organized investigation of these molecules by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal polarized optical microscopy (POM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals that the lateral methyl groups attached to the surface of rod and coil segments, dramatically influence the self-assembling behavior in the liquid-crystalline mesophase. Molecule 1 with a relatively short PEO coil length (DP=7) self-assembles into rectangular and oblique 2-dimensional columnar assemblies, whereas molecules 2 and 3 with DP of 12 and 17 respectively, spontaneously self-organize into unusual 3-dimensional hexagonal close-packed or body-centered tetragonal assemblies.
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