Structure vs. properties — chirality, optics and shapes — in amphiphilic porphyrin J-aggregates†
Abstract
The structure of the meso-tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (TPPS4) J-aggregates could be determined by X-ray and 01] plane direction. The structure of the sheet on the [
01] plane is already chiral and its molecular architecture explains the simultaneous presence of H- and J-aggregate bands in their
01] to interact with other layers, either through ionic or hydrophobic interactions, depends on the substitution pattern at the meso-positions of the porphyrin ring. Thus, the different morphologies of the particles [mono- bi- and multilayered] of this series of J-aggregates are explained taking into account the role that the fourth meso-substituent plays in the interlayer stabilization. The results suggest that supramolecular helicity, previously detected in several J-aggregates, is not the explanation of their chirality but would be the expression of the intrinsic chirality of the packing between building blocks.