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Piling Up Pillar[5]arenes To Self-Assemble Nanotubes.
Iwona Nierengarten1, Sebastiano Guerra1,2, Haifa Ben Aziza1,3
1Laboratoire de Chimie des Matériaux Moléculaires, Université de Strasbourg et CNRS (UMR 7509), Ecole Européenne de Chimie, Polymères et Matériaux, 25 rue Becquerel, 67087, Strasbourg Cedex 2, France.
Chemistry (Weinheim an Der Bergstrasse, Germany)
|February 19, 2016
Summary
New disc-shaped pillar[5]arene derivatives self-assemble into liquid-crystalline nanotubular wires. These structures effectively form inclusion complexes, demonstrating potential for novel supramolecular materials and host-guest chemistry applications.
Area of Science:
- Supramolecular Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Organic Chemistry
Background:
- Pillar[5]arenes are macrocyclic compounds known for their ability to form inclusion complexes.
- Dendrons are branched macromolecules that can impart unique properties to host molecules.
- Liquid-crystalline phases exhibit properties between those of conventional liquids and solid crystals.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize novel liquid-crystalline pillar[5]arene derivatives by incorporating poly(benzylether) dendrons.
- To investigate the self-assembly behavior and supramolecular organization of these new derivatives.
- To explore the formation and characterization of inclusion complexes involving these pillar[5]arene derivatives.
Main Methods:
- Grafting first-generation Percec-type poly(benzylether) dendrons onto pillar[5]arene scaffolds.
- Characterization of the synthesized compounds using spectroscopic and analytical techniques.
- X-ray diffraction analysis to determine supramolecular organization and liquid-crystalline phases.
- Solution and solid-state binding studies with 1,6-dicyanohexane as a guest molecule.
Main Results:
- Successful synthesis of pillar[5]arene derivatives functionalized with dendrons, adopting a disc-shaped molecular geometry.
- Observation of self-assembly into a columnar liquid-crystalline phase (Colh mesophase) with nanotubular structures.
- Formation of inclusion complexes in both solution and solid states, with 1,6-dicyanohexane as the guest.
- X-ray diffraction data confirmed the supramolecular organization and similarity to known pillararene inclusion complexes.
Conclusions:
- The grafting of dendrons onto pillar[5]arenes creates disc-shaped molecules capable of forming ordered liquid-crystalline columnar phases.
- These pillar[5]arene-dendron conjugates exhibit efficient host-guest complexation, forming stable inclusion complexes.
- The study highlights the potential of these novel materials for applications in supramolecular chemistry and nanotechnology.
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