Supramolecular Depolymerization in the Mixture of Two Poor Solvents: Mechanistic Insights and Modulation of Supramolecular Polymerization of Ionic π-Systems

Pathway Selection in Temporal Evolution of Supramolecular Polymers of Ionic π-Systems: Amphiphilic Organic Solvent Dictates the Fate of Water

Understanding solvent-solute interactions is essential to designing and synthesising soft materials with tailor-made functions. Although the interaction of the solute with the solvent mixture is more complex than the single solvent medium, solvent mixtures are exciting to unfold several unforeseen phenomena in supramolecular chemistry. Here, we report two unforeseen pathways observed during the hierarchical assembly of cationic perylene diimides (cPDIs) in water and amphiphilic organic solvent (AOS) mixtures. When the aqueous supramolecular polymers (SPs) of cPDIs are injected into AOS, initially kinetically trapped short SPs are formed, which gradually transform into thermodynamically stable high aspect ratio SP networks. Using various experimental and theoretical investigations, we found that this temporal evolution follows two distinct pathways depending on the nature of the water-AOS interactions. If the AOS is isopropanol (IPA), water is released from cPDIs into bulk IPA due to strong hydrogen bonding interactions, which further decreases the monomer concentration of cPDIs (Pathway-1). In the case of dioxane AOS, cPDI monomer concentration further increases as water is retained among cPDIs (Pathway-2) due to relatively weak interactions between dioxane and water. Interestingly, these two pathways are accelerated by external stimuli such as heat and mechanical agitation.

Supramolecular Engineering of Ti3C2Tx MXene -Perylene Diimide Hybrid Electrodes for the Pseudocapacitive Electrochemical Storage of Calcium Ions

The rare combination of metallic conductivity and surface redox activity enables 2D MXenes as versatile charge storage hosts for the design of high-rate electrochemical energy storage devices. However, high charge density metal ions including but not limited to Ca+2 and Mg+2 pose challenges such as sluggish solid-state diffusion and also inhibiting the charge transfer across electrode-electrolyte interfaces. In this work, free-standing hybrid electrode architectures based on 2D titanium carbide-cationic perylene diimide (Ti3C2Tx@cPDI) via supramolecular self-assembly are developed. Secondary bonding interactions such as dipole-dipole and hydrogen bonding between Ti3C2Tx and cPDI are investigated by zeta potential and Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy . Ti3C2Tx@cPDI free-standing electrodes show typical volumetric capacitance up to 260 F cm-3 in Mg2+ and Ca2+ aqueous electrolytes at charging times scales from 3 minutes to a few seconds. Three-dimensional (3D) Bode maps are constructed to understand the charge storage dynamics of Ti3C2Tx@cPDI hybrid electrode in an aqueous Ca-ion electrolyte. ,Pseudocapacitance is solely contributed by the nanoscale distribution of redox-active cPDI supramolecular polymers across 2D Ti3C2Tx. This study opens avenues for the design of a wide variety of MXene@redox active organic charge hosts for high-rate pseudocapacitive energy storage devices.

Characterization by Gel Permeation Chromatography of the Molecular Weight of Supramolecular Polymers Generated by Forming Polyrotaxanes through the Introduction of External Stoppers

Supramolecular polymers find wide applications across diverse domains, and the molecular weight exerts a critical influence on their applicability. Consequently, the measurement of molecular weight for supramolecular polymers assumes paramount significance. Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) requiring low-concentration condition is a common characterization employed for molecular weight determination, which is not suitable for supramolecular polymers possessing concentration-independence property. Here, to break this threshold, we synthesized M1 embodying dibenzo-24-crown-8 (DB24C8) moiety as well as dibenzylammonium salt (DBA) group, which was capable of self-assembling into supramolecular polymers terminated with aldehyde groups at its end. Upon the addition of (4- (1,2,2-Triphenylvinyl) phenyl) methylamine (TPE-NH2), supramolecular polymers underwent a transition into polyrotaxanes, for which it was led by the generation of imine bonds. By virtue of GPC, the molecular weight of polyrotaxanes was obtained, then it was available to gain the molecular weight of supramolecular polymers with the help of transformation efficiency.

Solvent-dependent self-assembly of N-annulated perylene diimides. From dimers to supramolecular polymers

The synthesis and self-assembling features of the N-annulated perylene diimide (NPBI) 1 in different solvents are reported. Compound 1 possesses two chiral linkers, derived from (S)-(+)-alaninol, that connect the central aromatic NPBI segment and the peripheral trialkoxybenzamide units. The Ala-based linker has been demonstrated to strongly favor the formation of intramolecularly H-bonded seven-membered pseudocycles. NPBI 1 shows a strong tendency to self-assemble even in a good solvent like CHCl3 and the formation of chiral dimers is detected in this good solvent. Both experimental techniques and theoretical calculations reveal that the intramolecular H-bonded pseudocycles are very robust and the formation of chiral dimers is driven by the π-stacking of two units of the NPBI core. Unexpectedly, an efficient transfer of the asymmetry of the point chirality at the linker to the aromatic moiety is observed in the molecularly dissolved state. Changing the solvent to more apolar methylcyclohexane modifies the self-assembly process and the formation of chiral supramolecular polymers is detected. The supramolecular polymerization of 1 is demonstrated to follow an isodesmic mechanism unlike previous referable systems. In the formation of the supramolecular polymers of 1, the combination of experimental and computational data indicates that the H-bonded pseudocycles are also present in the aggregated state and the rope-like, columnar aggregates formed by the self-assembly of 1 rely on the π-stacking of the NPBI backbones.

Post-synthetic π-extension of perylene conjugated porous polymer via APEX reactions: tunable optical and gas storage properties

Double post-synthetic modification is used for the π-extension of perylene based conjugated porous polymers (CPPs) using sequential annulative π-extension (APEX) reactions. This approach enabled us to synthesize new CPPs rendered with donor-acceptor rigid π-systems such as benzoperylene anhydride (BPA-CPP) and benzoperylene benzimidazole (BPBI-CPP) with distinct optical properties. Despite its low surface area, BPBI-CPP shows good CO₂ uptake and pH responsive behaviour owing to the presence of benzimidazole rings.

Synthesis and Self-assembly of Benzoperylene Benzimidazoles: Tunable Morphology with Aggregation Induced Enhanced Emission

Benzoperylene benzimidazoles ( BPBIs ) based π-systems are synthesized and their self-assembly in both non-polar and polar solvents is investigated. Due to the presence of donor and acceptor functional groups,  BPBIs  absorb light up to 600 nm and display red fluorescence (575-800 nm). Depending on the solvent and side chain,  BPBIs  self-assemble into various nanostructures such as nanoribbons, nanorods, nanofibers and nanoparticles. Notably, these ordered nanostructures are formed by  BPBIs  in both polar and non-polar solvents   without the aid of hydrogen bonding and amphiphilic interactions due to the presence of a large rigid π-system. Interestingly,  BPBIs  follow a weakly cooperative mechanism during the self-assembly. Moreover,  BPBIs  show aggregation induced enhanced emission (AIEE) in all the self-assembled nanostructures which is not common for rigid π-systems.

Controlling the length of porphyrin supramolecular polymers via coupled equilibria and dilution-induced supramolecular polymerization

Multi-component systems often display convoluted behavior, pathway complexity and coupled equilibria. In recent years, several ways to control complex systems by manipulating the subtle balances of interaction energies between the individual components have been explored and thereby shifting the equilibrium between different aggregate states. Here we show the enantioselective chain-capping and dilution-induced supramolecular polymerization with a Zn²⁺-porphyrin-based supramolecular system when going from long, highly cooperative supramolecular polymers to short, disordered aggregates by adding a monotopic Mn³⁺-porphyrin monomer. When mixing the zinc and manganese centered monomers, the Mn³⁺-porphyrins act as chain-cappers for Zn²⁺-porphyrin supramolecular polymers, effectively hindering growth of the copolymer and reducing the length. Upon dilution, the interaction between chain-capper and monomers weakens as the equilibria shift and long supramolecular polymers form again. This dynamic modulation of aggregate morphology and length is achieved through enantioselectivity in the aggregation pathways and concentration-sensitive equilibria. All-atom and coarse-grained molecular simulations provide further insights into the mixing of the species and their exchange dynamics. Our combined experimental and theoretical approach allows for precise control of molecular self-assembly and chiral discrimination in complex systems.

Giant spin pumping at the ferromagnet (permalloy) – organic semiconductor (perylene diimide) interface

Pure spin current based devices have attracted great interest in recent days. Spin current injection into non-magnetic materials is essential for the design and development of such pure spin current based devices. In this context, organic semiconductors (OSCs) can be potential non-magnetic materials over widely explored heavy metals. This is due to the relatively low spin–orbit coupling of OSCs, which is essential to host the spin current with a large spin diffusion length and long spin-relaxation time. This research work demonstrates the harvesting of spin currents at the perylene diimide (PDI)/permalloy (Py) based OSC interface. The observed high linewidth broadening of 2.18 mT from the ferromagnetic resonance spectra indicates the presence of giant spin pumping from Py to PDI. The resultant spin-mixing conductance, 1.54 × 10¹⁸ m⁻² quantifies the amount of spin current injected from Py to PDI, which is in a similar range to ferromagnet/heavy metals.

The spin injection from permalloy into an adjacent perylene diimide (PDI) layer is demonstrated via ferromagnetic resonance associated linewidth broadening. The spin mixing conductance is found to be 1.54×10¹⁸ m⁻² in a similar range to FM/heavy metal.