Propagation of chirality from gemini surfactants to porphyrin/surfactant heteroaggregates: transcription of the stereochemical information into an organizational feature

Abstract

The interaction of 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin with the chiral gemini surfactants (2R,3R)- and (2S,3S)-2,3-dimethoxy-1,4-bis(N-hexadecyl-N,N-dimethylammonium)butane bromide gives, below the critical micellar concentration, porphyrin/surfactant heteroaggregates of defined stoichiometry, where the dye molecules have a column-packed, H-type arrangement. The results of a CD investigation suggest that the gemini structure controls both the chirality of the porphyrin-surfactant unit and the chiral morphology of H-type aggregates.