High aspect ratio nanotubes assembled from macrocyclic iminium salts

Abstract

The distinct properties of one-dimensional nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes and actin filaments, emerge from their high aspect ratios. Stacking macrocycles into nanotubes represents a potentially powerful design strategy to access synthetic nanotubes, but such noncovalent assemblies are typically too weak to support individual, high aspect ratio structures. We report hexagonal macrocycles that exhibit strong electrostatic stacking upon protonation of their imine linkages. The resulting nanotubes form lyotropic phases and align in flow, a hallmark of high aspect ratio structures. The iminium-linked macrocycle assemblies form and disassemble reversibly in the presence of bases and acids, and are stabilized by covalent cross-linking.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Aug 21, 2018
Source ID
10.1073/pnas.1809383115

Entities

People

  • Anton D. Chavez
  • Austin M Evans
  • Boris Harutyunyan
  • Chao Sun
  • Mark Hersam
  • Meng Shen
  • Michael Bedzyk
  • Monica Olvera de la Cruz
  • Nathan C Flanders
  • William Dichtel
  • Xiaolong Liu

Organizations

  • Army Research Office
  • Cornell University
  • National Science Foundation
  • Northwestern University
  • Office of Basic Energy Sciences
  • United States Department of Energy

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Chemistry

Readers

  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Nanocomposite Materials Science
  • Organic Chemistry