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Salen‐Based Amphiphiles: Directing Self‐Assembly in Water by Metal Complexation
Author(s) -
Tosi Filippo,
Stuart Marc C. A.,
Wezenberg Sander J.,
Feringa Ben L.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201908010
Subject(s) - amphiphile , thermogravimetric analysis , micelle , self assembly , metal ions in aqueous solution , metal , vesicle , conductivity , ion , materials science , ligand (biochemistry) , membrane , nanotechnology , chemistry , crystallography , copolymer , organic chemistry , polymer , aqueous solution , receptor , biochemistry
Tuning morphologies of self‐assembled structures in water is a major challenge. Herein we present a salen‐based amphiphile which, using complexation with distinct transition metal ions, allows to control effectively the self‐assembly morphology in water, as observed by Cryo‐TEM and confirmed by DLS measurements. Applying this strategy with various metal ions gives a broad spectrum of self‐assembled structures starting from the same amphiphilic ligand (from cubic structures to vesicles and micelles). Thermogravimetric analysis and electric conductivity measurements reveal a key role for water coordination apparently being responsible for the distinct assembly behavior.