Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Nanowires on the Surface by Metallo-Supramolecular Truncated Cuboctahedra

J Am Chem Soc. 2021 Apr 21;143(15):5826-5835. doi: 10.1021/jacs.1c00625. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Abstract

Parastichy, the spiral arrangement of plant organs, is an example of the long-range apparent order seen in biological systems. These ordered arrangements provide scientists with both an aesthetic challenge and a mathematical inspiration. Synthetic efforts to replicate the regularity of parastichy may allow for molecular-scale control over particle arrangement processes. Here we report the packing of a supramolecular truncated cuboctahedron (TCO) into double-helical (DH) nanowires on a graphite surface with a non-natural parastichy pattern ascribed to the symmetry of the TCOs and interactions between TCOs. Such a study is expected to advance our understanding of the design inputs needed to create complex, but precisely controlled, hierarchical materials. It is also one of the few reported helical packing structures based on Platonic or Archimedean solids since the discovery of the Boerdijk-Coxeter helix. As such, it may provide experimental support for studies of packing theory at the molecular level.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Graphite / chemistry
  • Macromolecular Substances / chemistry*
  • Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Monte Carlo Method
  • Nanowires / chemistry*
  • Platinum / chemistry
  • Porphyrins / chemistry

Substances

  • Macromolecular Substances
  • Porphyrins
  • tetra-(4-aminophenyl)porphyrin
  • Platinum
  • Graphite