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Asymmetric Fullerene Nanosurfactant: Interface Engineering for Automatic Molecular Alignments
Author(s) -
Kim DaeYoon,
Lee SangA,
Kim Soeun,
Nah Changwoon,
Lee Seung Hee,
Jeong KwangUn
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201702439
Subject(s) - materials science , nanomaterials , self assembly , molecular engineering , fullerene , mesogen , alkyl , amphiphile , nanotechnology , monolayer , molecule , liquid crystal , nanoscopic scale , chemical physics , crystallography , chemistry , liquid crystalline , organic chemistry , polymer , optoelectronics , copolymer , composite material
Since the molecular self‐assembly of nanomaterials is sensitive to their surface properties, the molecular packing structure on the surface is essential to build the desired chemical and physical properties of nanomaterials. Here, a new nanosurfactant is proposed for the automatic construction of macroscopic surface alignment layer for liquid crystal (LC) molecules. An asymmetric nanosurfactant (C 60 NS) consisted of mesogenic cyanobiphenyl moieties with flexible alkyl chains and a [60]fullerene nanoatom is newly designed and precisely synthesized. The C 60 NS directly introduced in the anisotropic LC medium is self‐assembled into the monolayered protrusions on the surface because of its amphiphilic nature originated by asymmetrically programmed structural motif of LC‐favoring moieties and LC‐repelling groups. The monolayered protrusions constructed by the phase‐separation and self‐assembly of asymmetric C 60 NS nanosurfactant in the anisotropic LC media amplify and transfer the molecular orientational order from surface to bulk, and finally create the automatic vertical molecular alignment on the macroscopic length scale. The asymmetric C 60 NS nanosurfactant and its self‐assembly described herein can offer the direct guideline of interface engineering for the automatic molecular alignments.