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Rational Design of an Amphiphilic Coordination Cage-Based Emulsifier
Subhadeep Saha1, Björn Holzapfel1, Yen-Ting Chen2
1Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology , TU Dortmund University , Otto-Hahn-Str. 6 , 44227 Dortmund , Germany.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
|December 6, 2018
Summary
Researchers created novel cage-based gemini amphiphiles (CGAs) that self-assemble into vesicles. These structures can form chains and stabilize oil-in-oil emulsions, expanding applications for porous coordination cages.
Area of Science:
- Supramolecular Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Porous coordination cages enable controlled guest inclusion, drug delivery, separation, and catalysis.
- Limited research exists on using 3D cage shape and external functionalization for self-assembled materials.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop novel self-assembled materials from functionalized coordination cages.
- To investigate the self-assembly behavior and properties of cage-based gemini amphiphiles.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of acridone-based (L^A) and phenanthrene-derived (L^B) ligands.
- Self-assembly of ligands into heteroleptic coordination cages cis-[Pd2(L^A)2(L^B)2]4+ (CGA-1).
- Characterization using cryo-TEM and Liquid-Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy (LC-TEM).
Main Results:
- Cationic cages (CGA-1) with anisotropic side chains self-assemble into vesicles (>100 nm diameter) in polar solvents.
- LC-TEM showed vesicles forming chains and necklaces through long-range interactions.
- The cages demonstrated an ability to stabilize oil-in-oil emulsions.
Conclusions:
- Cage-based gemini amphiphiles (CGAs) can form self-assembled vesicular structures.
- These CGAs exhibit unique aggregation behaviors and emulsion stabilization capabilities.
- The findings expand the utility of coordination cages in materials science and nanotechnology.
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