Supramolecular nesting of cyclic polymers

Advances in template-directed synthesis make it possible to create artificial molecules with protein-like dimensions, directly from simple components. These synthetic macromolecules have a proclivity for self-organization that is reminiscent of biopolymers. Here, we report the synthesis of monodispe...

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Main Authors: Kondratuk, Dmitry V., Perdigão, Luis M.A., Esmail, Ayad M.S., O'Shea, James N., Beton, Peter H., Anderson, Harry L.
Format: Article
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2015
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34933/
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author Kondratuk, Dmitry V.
Perdigão, Luis M.A.
Esmail, Ayad M.S.
O'Shea, James N.
Beton, Peter H.
Anderson, Harry L.
author_facet Kondratuk, Dmitry V.
Perdigão, Luis M.A.
Esmail, Ayad M.S.
O'Shea, James N.
Beton, Peter H.
Anderson, Harry L.
author_sort Kondratuk, Dmitry V.
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Advances in template-directed synthesis make it possible to create artificial molecules with protein-like dimensions, directly from simple components. These synthetic macromolecules have a proclivity for self-organization that is reminiscent of biopolymers. Here, we report the synthesis of monodisperse cyclic porphyrin polymers, with diameters of up to 21 nm (750 C–C bonds). The ratio of the intrinsic viscosities for cyclic and linear topologies is 0.72, indicating that these polymers behave as almost ideal flexible chains in solution. When deposited on ​gold surfaces, the cyclic polymers display a new mode of two-dimensional supramolecular organization, combining encapsulation and nesting; one nanoring adopts a near-circular conformation, thus allowing a second nanoring to be captured within its perimeter, in a tightly folded conformation. Scanning tunnelling microscopy reveals that nesting occurs in combination with stacking when nanorings are deposited under vacuum, whereas when they are deposited directly from solution under ambient conditions there is stacking or nesting, but not a combination of both.
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spelling nottingham-349332020-05-04T17:02:38Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34933/ Supramolecular nesting of cyclic polymers Kondratuk, Dmitry V. Perdigão, Luis M.A. Esmail, Ayad M.S. O'Shea, James N. Beton, Peter H. Anderson, Harry L. Advances in template-directed synthesis make it possible to create artificial molecules with protein-like dimensions, directly from simple components. These synthetic macromolecules have a proclivity for self-organization that is reminiscent of biopolymers. Here, we report the synthesis of monodisperse cyclic porphyrin polymers, with diameters of up to 21 nm (750 C–C bonds). The ratio of the intrinsic viscosities for cyclic and linear topologies is 0.72, indicating that these polymers behave as almost ideal flexible chains in solution. When deposited on ​gold surfaces, the cyclic polymers display a new mode of two-dimensional supramolecular organization, combining encapsulation and nesting; one nanoring adopts a near-circular conformation, thus allowing a second nanoring to be captured within its perimeter, in a tightly folded conformation. Scanning tunnelling microscopy reveals that nesting occurs in combination with stacking when nanorings are deposited under vacuum, whereas when they are deposited directly from solution under ambient conditions there is stacking or nesting, but not a combination of both. Nature Publishing Group 2015-02-16 Article PeerReviewed Kondratuk, Dmitry V., Perdigão, Luis M.A., Esmail, Ayad M.S., O'Shea, James N., Beton, Peter H. and Anderson, Harry L. (2015) Supramolecular nesting of cyclic polymers. Nature Chemistry, 7 (4). pp. 317-322. ISSN 1755-4349 Molecular self-assembly Scanning probe microscopy Self-assembly Surface assembly http://www.nature.com/nchem/journal/v7/n4/full/nchem.2182.html doi:10.1038/nchem.2182 doi:10.1038/nchem.2182
spellingShingle Molecular self-assembly
Scanning probe microscopy
Self-assembly
Surface assembly
Kondratuk, Dmitry V.
Perdigão, Luis M.A.
Esmail, Ayad M.S.
O'Shea, James N.
Beton, Peter H.
Anderson, Harry L.
Supramolecular nesting of cyclic polymers
title Supramolecular nesting of cyclic polymers
title_full Supramolecular nesting of cyclic polymers
title_fullStr Supramolecular nesting of cyclic polymers
title_full_unstemmed Supramolecular nesting of cyclic polymers
title_short Supramolecular nesting of cyclic polymers
title_sort supramolecular nesting of cyclic polymers
topic Molecular self-assembly
Scanning probe microscopy
Self-assembly
Surface assembly
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34933/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34933/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34933/