Issue 20, 2023

Impact of peripheral alkyl chain length on mesocrystal assemblies of G2 dendrons

Abstract

Unique sphere-packing mesophases such as Frank–Kasper (FK) phases have emerged from the viable design of intermolecular interactions in supramolecular assemblies. Herein, a series of Cn-G2-CONH2 dendrons possessing an identical core wedge are investigated to elucidate the impact of peripheral alkyl chain lengths (Cn) on the formation of the close-packed structures. The C18 and C14 dendrons, of which the contour lengths of the periphery Lp are longer than the wedge length Lw, assemble into a uniform sphere-packing phase such as body-centred cubic (BCC), whereas the C8 dendron with short (Lp < Lw) corona environment forms the FK A15 phase. Particularly in the intermediate C12 and C10 dendrons (LpLw), cooling the samples from an isotropic state leads to cooling-rate-dependent phase behaviours. The C12 dendron produces two structures of hexagonal columnar and sphere-packing phases (BCC and A15), while the C10 dendron generates the A15 and σ phases by the fast- and slow-cooling processes, respectively. Our results show the impact of peripheral alkyl chain lengths on the formation of mesocrystal phases, where the energy landscape of the dendrons at Lp/Lw ≈ 1 must be more complex and delicate than those with either longer or shorter peripheral alkyl chains.

Graphical abstract: Impact of peripheral alkyl chain length on mesocrystal assemblies of G2 dendrons

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
17 Mar 2023
Accepted
30 Apr 2023
First published
01 May 2023

Nanoscale, 2023,15, 9069-9075

Author version available

Impact of peripheral alkyl chain length on mesocrystal assemblies of G2 dendrons

T. Jun, H. Park, J. Kim, W. Lee, H. Ahn, W. Jang, B. Lee and D. Y. Ryu, Nanoscale, 2023, 15, 9069 DOI: 10.1039/D3NR01243C

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