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Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Synthesis and Characterization of Supramolecular Colloids
Published on: April 22, 2016
Chiral Supramolecular Assemblies from an Achiral Naphthalene Diimide Bearing a Urea Moiety
Dada B Shaikh1, Rajesh S Bhosale1,2, Duong Duc La3
1Polymers and Functional Materials Division and Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad, 500007, Telangana, India.
Abstract:
The ordering of organic molecules in a supramolecular self-assembly determines their physical, chemical, and photonic properties. Here, we report the aggregation of two achiral naphthalene diimides (NDIs), in which phenyl moieties are linked to the NDI core via a urea subunit, leading to chiral supramolecular assemblies in THF/methylcyclohexane. Circular dichroism spectroscopic analysis of twisted ribbons deposited from solutions indicated a mixture of left- and right-handed nanostructures for one NDI, whereas only left-handed structures were observed for the other one. Furthermore, this study also shows the effect of large atoms such as iodine on the self-assembly process, which governs and controls the helicity of the produced microstructures. The supramolecular assemblies were characterized by UV/Vis, fluorescence emission, CD, SEM, and XRD techniques.
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