Premium
Assembly of an Achiral Chromophore into Light‐Responsive Helical Nanostructures in the Absence of Chiral Components
Author(s) -
Han Mina,
Cho Sung June,
Norikane Yasuo,
Shimizu Masaki,
Seki Takahiro
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201600227
Subject(s) - chromophore , chirality (physics) , fluorescence , crystallography , molecule , materials science , helix (gastropod) , nanostructure , chemistry , nanotechnology , photochemistry , optics , physics , chiral symmetry , organic chemistry , biology , ecology , quantum mechanics , snail , nambu–jona lasinio model , quark
The chirality found in living organisms is one of unsolved mysteries on Earth. It is crucial to understand the manner in which small achiral molecules evolve into helical superstructures in the absence of chiral components because this process can provide important insights regarding the origin of chirality in nature. 1) the uncommon helical assembly of an achiral trigonal chromophore into helical nanostructures with aggregation‐induced emission enhancement (AIEE) characteristics and 2) the tunability of the helical pitch and fluorescence intensity in response to light is reported. The Rietveld refinement of X‐ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and the growth process suggest that a striking transformation from an achiral to an asymmetric molecule can occur as a result of specific interactions with certain solvents, presumably leading to the unique helical assembly. More importantly, exposure to UV or visible light promoted not only the formation of irregular helical structures with a wide range of pitch lengths but also an increase in fluorescence intensity.