Dendrimer-mediated columnar mesophase of surfactants

The columnar mesophase, in which the molecular or supramolecular building blocks with rod-like geometry pack into two-dimensional (2D) lattices, is an important class of mesomorphic structure having been found in various liquid crystalline materials for practical applications. The cylindrical micelles assembled by amphiphilic surfactants may also form columnar mesophases with the micelle packing symmetry being tunable by the molecular characteristics of the surfactants. In this study, we demonstrate that a positively charged tree-like polymer, poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) G4 dendrimer, acted as an effective structure-directing agent for the columnar mesophase of a common anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), via their electrostatic interaction. By adjusting the dendrimer charge density and the nominal binding ratio (Xn) of SDS to dendrimer, the electrostatic complexes self-assembled to form a body-centered cubic (BCC) sphere phase, wherein the dendrimers were staggered between the interspaces of the SDS spherical micelles packed in the BCC lattice. Four types of 2D columnar mesophase composed of SDS cylindrical micelles and dendrimers were accommodated within the interstitial tunnels, including the hexagonal columnar phase (Colhex), simple rectangular columnar phase (Colsr), oblique columnar phase (Colob) and centered rectangular columnar phase (Colcr). A detailed analysis of the geometry of the dendrimer in the columnar mesophases revealed that the structural transition was governed by the interplay among the lateral and axial deformations of the dendrimer, and the deformation of the SDS micelle cross section for achieving effective charge matching and accommodation of the dendrimer. The present study demonstrated the power of the dendrimer in directing the long-range ordered packing of oppositely charged cylinders to yield a rich structural polymorphism of the columnar mesophase that may be exploited for the development of functional materials.