The transfer of information encoded by molecular subcomponents is a key phenomenon that regulates the biological inheritance in living organisms, yet there is a lack of understanding of related transfer mechanisms at the supramolecular level in artificial multicomponent systems. Our contribution to tackle this challenge has focused on the design of a thiolated π-conjugated linking unit, whose hierarchical, cooperative self-assembly in nonpolar media can be efficiently transferred from the molecular to the nanoscopic level, thereby enabling the reversible self-assembly of gold nanoparticle (AuNP) clusters. The transfer of supramolecular information by the linking π-system can only take place when a specific cooperative nucleation-elongation mechanism is operative, whereas low-ordered noncooperative assemblies formed below a critical concentration do not suffice to extend the order to the AuNP level. To the best of our knowledge, our approach has allowed for the first time a deep analysis of the hierarchy levels and thermodynamics involved in the self-assembly of AuNPs.
Keywords: cooperativity; gold nanoparticle; self-assembly; supramolecular polymerization; π-conjugated systems.