Non-covalent synthesis of supermicelles with complex architectures using spatially confined hydrogen-bonding interactions.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 26337527.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms9127 and PMC identifier 4569713.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Nature uses orthogonal interactions over different length scales to construct structures with hierarchical levels of order and provides an important source of inspiration for the creation of synthetic functional materials. Here, we report the programmed assembly of monodisperse cylindrical block comicelle building blocks with crystalline cores to create supermicelles using spatially confined hydrogen-bonding interactions. We also demonstrate that it is possible to further program the self-assembly of these synthetic building blocks into structures of increased complexity by combining hydrogen-bonding interactions with segment solvophobicity. The overall approach offers an efficient, non-covalent synthesis method for the solution-phase fabrication of a range of complex and potentially functional supermicelle architectures in which the crystallization, hydrogen-bonding and solvophobic interactions are combined in an orthogonal manner.