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Living Supramolecular Polymerisation of Perylene Diimide Amphiphiles by Seeded Growth under Kinetic Control
Author(s) -
JarrettWilkins Charles,
He Xiaoming,
Symons Henry E.,
Harniman Robert L.,
Faul Charl F. J.,
Manners Ian
Publication year - 2018
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.201801424
Subject(s) - diimide , perylene , supramolecular chemistry , amphiphile , ethylene glycol , polymerization , polymer chemistry , polymer , supramolecular polymers , self assembly , materials science , copolymer , photochemistry , chemistry , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , molecule , engineering
The controlled solution self‐assembly of an amphiphilic perylene diimide (PDI), with a hydrophobic perylene core and hydrophilic imide substituents with polydisperse oligo(ethylene glycol) (OEG) tethers is presented. It was possible, by a seeded‐growth mechanism, to form colloidally stable, one‐dimensional fibres with controllable lengths (from 400 to 1700 nm) and low dispersities (1.19–1.29) via a living supramolecular polymerisation process. Under the solvent conditions used, it was found that molecularly dissolved material (unimer) was present in samples of the fibre‐like supramolecular assemblies. The free unimer may be present in a conformationally derived kinetically trapped state and/or may represent a more soluble PDI fraction with longer hydrophilic tethers. Significantly, it was also possible to form segmented supramolecular block copolymers by the addition of PDI unimer to chemically distinct PDI seeds, yielding fibres with controlled lengths. These results represent a significant advance in the ability to form PDI‐based supramolecular polymers with precisely controlled lengths and architectures.