Copper(II) ion induced monolayer formation of p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arene at the air-water interface

Thermally Stable Nitrothiacalixarene Chromophores: Conformational Study and Aggregation Behavior

Achieving high thermal stability and control of supramolecular organization of functional dyes in sensors and nonlinear optics remains a demanding task. This study was aimed at the evaluation of thermal behavior and Langmuir monolayer characteristics of topologically varied nitrothiacalixarene multichromophores and phenol monomers. A nitration/azo coupling alkylation synthetic route towards partially O-substituted nitrothiacalixarenes and 4-nitrophenylazo-thiacalixarenes was proposed and realized. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry of disubstituted nitrothiacalix[4]arene revealed a rare 1,2-alternate conformation. A synchronous thermal analysis indicated higher decomposition temperatures of nitrothiacalixarene macrocycles as compared with monomers. Through surface pressure/potential-molecular area measurements, nitrothiacalixarenes were shown to form Langmuir monolayers at the air–water interface and, through atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique, Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) films on solid substrates. Reflection-absorption spectroscopy of monolayers and electronic absorption spectroscopy of LB films of nitrothiacalixarenes recorded a red-shifted band (290 nm) with a transition from chloroform, indicative of solvatochromism. Additionally, shoulder band at 360 nm was attributed to aggregation and supported by gas-phase density functional theory (DFT) calculations and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis in chloroform–methanol solvent in the case of monoalkylated calixarene 3. Excellent thermal stability and monolayer formation of nitrothiacalixarenes suggest their potential as functional dyes.

An experimental and theoretical study of the aggregate structure of calix[6]arenes in Langmuir films at the water/air interface

In this paper, the aggregate formation of para-tert-butylcalix[6]arene molecules (Calix6) in dimeric structures was investigated at the water/air interface using experimental and theoretical studies. A specific orientation for such Calix6 molecules was observed with an average area of 133 Å(2), which corresponds to a flat-on orientation with the OH groups parallel to the interface. By varying the pressure on the Calix6 monolayer, the molecules tend to organize at the water/air interface and subsequently, at higher pressures, aggregates were formed atop the monolayer as cluster structures. Morphological characterization by the Brewster Angle Microscopy technique showed the formation of larger domains at lower pressures. Based on such experimental evidence, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to investigate possible dimeric structures for aggregated Calix6 molecules, which are localized at the water/air interface, where one molecule remains in the water phase and the other remains in the air phase. By increasing surface pressure, experimental and theoretical results corroborate the intermolecular interactions among Calix6 molecules. These results are relevant because a dimeric structure has a molecular cavity, which is a candidate for host-guest chemistry, an ion receptor or a drug-delivery system.

Langmuir monolayers and thin films of amphifilic thiacalix[4]arenes. Properties and matrix for the immobilization of cytochrome c

Formation and properties of Langmuir films of thiacalix[4]arene (TCA) derivatives containing N-donor groups on the lower rim (Y═O(CH2)3CN; OCH2CN; NH2; OCH2ArCN-p) in 1,3-alternate conformation on aqueous subphase and solid substrates have been studied. Only tetra-cyanopropoxy-p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arene 1 forms a typical monomolecular layer with perpendicular orientation of the macrocycle relative to the water-air interface that is able to immobilize cytochrome c in the entire range of the surface pressure. Obtained monolayers were transferred by Langmuir-Schaefer technique onto quartz, indium-tin oxide (ITO), and silicon. It was demonstrated that protein activity is retained after immobilization on the substrate.

Interaction of para-tert-butylcalix[6]arene molecules in Langmuir films with cadmium ions and their effects on molecular conformation and surface potential

The SFG data show the orientation of Calix6 molecules at the air/water interface, and their interaction with Cd ions.

Study of the Calix[4]resorcinarene−Dopamine Interactions in Monolayers by Measurement of Pressure−Area Isotherms and Maxwell Displacement Currents

The mechanisms of interactions between calix[4]resorcinarene and dopamine in monolayers formed at the air-water interface were studied by analyzing their mechanical, thermodynamic, and electrical properties evaluated from measurements of pressure-area isotherms and Maxwell displacement currents (MDCs). An increased concentration of dopamine in the water subphase resulted in an increase in the area per calix[4]resorcinarene molecule, an increase in the collapse pressure, and a shift in the monolayer phase transitions from the gaseous to the liquid state and from the liquid to the solid state toward higher molecular areas. A contactless method of recording MDCs enabled the monitoring of changes in the charge state of the monolayer-constituting molecules and the determination of a relationship between the phase state of the monolayer and the structural transitions of calix[4]resorcinarene. The changes of the MDC recordings started already in the gaseous state of the monolayer. On the basis of MDC values, we determined the normal component of the dipole moment of calix[4]resorcinarene, as well as that of its complex with dopamine. The dipole moment reached a maximum value of 1040 mD in the region of the phase transition from the liquid to the solid state of the monolayer. The results obtained suggest that the binding of dopamine with calix[4]resorcinarene depends on the orientation of the calixarene molecules in the monolayer. The calix[4]resorcinarene-dopamine interactions were also quantified in terms of the excess of Gibbs free energy, thereby allowing the evaluation of the energy of the calix [4]resorcinarene-dopamine bond, which was in the range from 1.95 to 8.54 kJ/mol depending on the surface pressure. This value implies weak interactions between these molecules.

Study of calix[4]resorcinarene–dopamine complexation in mixed phospholipid monolayers formed at the air–water interface

We have studied the physical properties of monolayers formed by calix[4]resorcinarene and in mixtures with dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) in various molar ratios formed at the air-water interface and at presence of dopamine in water subphase by means of measurements of surface pressure and dipole potential. We showed that both calix[4]resorcinarene as well as its mixture with DPPC form stable monolayers at the water subphase. The presence of dopamine resulted in an increase of the mean molecular area and in a decrease of the compressibility modulus of the monolayers. For mixed monolayers at higher content of calix[4]resorcinarene (> 0.2 molar fraction) a deviation from ideal miscibility took place especially for monolayers in a solid state. This can be connected with formation of aggregates of calix[4] resorcinarene. Lowest miscibility and weakest interaction of dopamine with a monolayer was observed for calix[4]resorcinarene molar fraction of 0.33 in the monolayer.