Palladium supported on structurally stable phenanthroline-based polymer nanotubes as a high-performance catalyst for the aqueous Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction

One-dimensional Pd-supported catalyst exhibits excellent catalytic activity since its TOF value is 3077 h⁻¹ for the Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction of bromobenzene and phenylboronic acid under ambient conditions.

Folding of phosphodiester-linked donor–acceptor oligomers into supramolecular nanotubes in water

Water soluble foldamers, synthesized by DNA synthesis with dialkoxynaphthalene and naphthalene-tetracarboxylic diimide blocks, formed supramolecular nanotubes in water.

Amphiphilic anthanthrene trimers that exfoliate graphite and individualize single wall carbon nanotubes

A phosphodiester-linked dialkynyl substituted anthanthrene trimer (1) has been designed and synthesized. Its graphene ribbon like structure is expected to facilitate interactions with nanographene (NG) and single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) to yield novel and stable carbon-based nanomaterials. Interactions with trimer 1 lead to exfoliation of NG and to the individualization of SWCNTs. Phosphate groups, in general, and their negative charges, in particular, render the resulting nanomaterials soluble in ethanol, which is ecologically favourable over DMF required for the processing of pristine NG or SWCNTs. The newly formed nanomaterials were probed by complementary spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Of particular importance were transient absorption and fluorescence excitation measurements, which revealed an efficient energy transfer within the carbon-based nanomaterials.

Hooking Together Sigmoidal Monomers into Supramolecular Polymers

Supramolecular polymers show great potential in the development of new materials because of their inherent recyclability and their self-healing and stimuli-responsive properties. Supramolecular conductive polymers are generally obtained by the assembly of individual aromatic molecules into columnar arrays that provide an optimal channel for electronic transport. A new approach is reported to prepare supramolecular polymers by hooking together sigmoidal monomers into 1D arrays of π-stacked anthracene and acridine units, which gives rise to micrometer-sized fibrils that show pseudoconductivities in line with other conducting materials. This approach paves the way for the design of new supramolecular polymers constituted by acene derivatives with enhanced excitonic and electronic transporting properties.

DNA-inspired oligomers: from oligophosphates to functional materials

Replacement of the natural nucleotides in DNA by non-nucleosidic building blocks leads to phosphodiester-linked oligomers with a high functional diversity.

Water induced morphological transformation of a poly(aryl ether) dendron amphiphile: helical fibers to nanorods, as light-harvesting antenna systems

Self-assembly of suitable molecular building blocks is an efficient and convenient approach to generate nanomaterials with various morphologies and functions. Moreover, understanding the nature of molecules and controlling factors of their self-assembly process is crucial in fundamental aspects of molecular self-assembly which provide insights into the design of new assemblies with functional nano-architectures. To this end, the present study reports water induced self-assembled multifaceted morphology formation and the plausible pathway of the morphology transformation of a single poly(aryl ether) dendron amphiphile 1(D). In THF, 1(D) self-assembles into helical fibers. However, with an increase in the water fraction in its THF solution, the morphology changes to nanorods through an intermediate scroll-up pathway of exfoliated fibers. The nanorod formation and transformation of 1(D) are investigated using various microscopy and spectroscopy techniques, which indicate that it has highly ordered multilayered arrays of 1(D) molecules. Finally, these multilayered arrays of 1(D) nanorods are exploited for constructing a model light-harvesting system via the incorporation of small quantities of two newly designed BODIPY based molecules as energy acceptors and 1(D) as an antenna chromophore.

High definition polyphosphoesters: between nucleic acids and plastics

Nucleic acids and synthetic polyphosphoester materials have been distinct fields – this review shows how these areas now comprise a continuum.

Self-assembly of a redox-active bolaamphiphile into supramolecular vesicles

Self-assembly of a redox-active bolaamphiphile leads to the formation of narrow-bandgap supramolecular vesicles.

Preorganization and Cooperation for Highly Efficient and Reversible Capture of Low-Concentration CO2 by Ionic Liquids

A novel strategy based on the concept of preorganization and cooperation has been designed for a superior capacity to capture low-concentration CO₂ by imide-based ionic liquids. By using this strategy, for the first time, an extremely high gravimetric CO₂ capacity of up to 22 wt % (1.65 mol mol^-1 ) and excellent reversibility (16 cycles) have been achieved from 10 vol. % of CO₂ in N₂ when using an ionic liquid having a preorganized anion. Through a combination of quantum-chemical calculations and spectroscopic investigations, it is suggested that cooperative interactions between CO₂ and multiple active sites in the preorganized anion are the driving force for the superior CO₂ capacity and excellent reversibility.

Synthesis of Responsive Two-Dimensional Polymers via Self-Assembled DNA Networks

Despite a growing interest in two-dimensional polymers, their rational synthesis remains a challenge. The solution-phase synthesis of a two-dimensional polymer is reported. A DNA-based monomer self-assembles into a supramolecular network, which is further converted into the covalently linked two-dimensional polymer by anthracene dimerization. The polymers appear as uniform monolayers, as shown by AFM and TEM imaging. Furthermore, they exhibit a pronounced solvent responsivity. The results demonstrate the value of DNA-controlled self-assembly for the formation of two-dimensional polymers in solution.