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Updated: Jun 24, 2025

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
Taming Molecular Folding: Anion-Templated Foldamers with Tunable Quaternary Structures
Eric A John1, Asia Marie S Riel1, Lianne H E Wieske2
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana 59812, United States.
Abstract:
Higher-order foldamers represent a unique class of supramolecules at the forefront of molecular design. Herein we control quaternary folding using a novel approach that combines halogen bonding (XBing) and hydrogen bonding (HBing). We present the first anion-templated double helices induced by halogen bonds (XBs) and stabilized by "hydrogen bond enhanced halogen bonds" (HBeXBs). Our findings demonstrate that the number and orientation of hydrogen bond (HB) and XB donors significantly affect the quaternary structure and guest selectivity of two similar oligomers. This research offers new design elements to engineer foldamers and tailor their quaternary structure for specific guest binding.
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