Hierarchical Supramolecular Self-Assembly: Fabrication and Visualization of Multiblock Microstructures

Xiujuan Shi; Jun Zhang; Junkai Liu; Xueqian Zhao; Haoran Wang; Peifa Wei; Xiaodong Zhang; Xin-Long Ni; Herman H-Y Sung; Ian D Williams; Wai Kit Ng; Kam Sing Wong; Jacky W Y Lam; Lin Wang; Honglin Jin; Ben Zhong Tang

doi:10.1002/anie.202211298

Hierarchical Supramolecular Self-Assembly: Fabrication and Visualization of Multiblock Microstructures

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2022 Dec 5;61(49):e202211298. doi: 10.1002/anie.202211298. Epub 2022 Nov 2.

Authors

Xiujuan Shi^{1

2}, Jun Zhang³, Junkai Liu¹, Xueqian Zhao¹, Haoran Wang¹, Peifa Wei⁴, Xiaodong Zhang⁵, Xin-Long Ni⁵, Herman H-Y Sung¹, Ian D Williams¹, Wai Kit Ng⁶, Kam Sing Wong⁶, Jacky W Y Lam¹, Lin Wang⁷, Honglin Jin², Ben Zhong Tang^{1

8}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
² College of Biomedicine and Health and College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
³ School of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, 230601, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Structure and Functional Regulation of Hybrid Materials of Ministry of Education, Anhui University, Hefei, 230601, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry of Guizhou Province, Guizhou University, Guizhou, 550025, China.
⁶ Department of Physics, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
⁷ Department of Clinical Laboratory, Research Center for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China.
⁸ School of Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Institute of Aggregate Science and Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518172, China.

PMID: 36207766
DOI: 10.1002/anie.202211298

Abstract

Due to the fast dynamics and re-equilibration of supramolecular self-assembly, bottom-up molecular strategies to fabricate well-defined and controllable multiblock structures are rare. Herein, we propose a new concept for fabrication of fluorescent multiblock microcolumns containing 1 to 7 blocks via hierarchical supramolecular self-assembly based on cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]), NaBr and an AIEgen guest. Through the complexation between CB[8] and different numbers of AIEgen guests (2, 1, 0), the competitive displacement caused by the binding of the sodium cation to the CB[8] portal, and the reversible assembly of positively charged guests in salt solutions, one-pot hierarchical supramolecular self-assembly is realized. The molecular structure of each block is analyzed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The AIEgen enables the self-assembly of multiblocks to be visualized, understood, and regulated.

Keywords: Aggregation-Induced Emission; Cucurbiturils; Hierarchical; Multiblock; Supramolecular Self-Assembly.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bridged-Ring Compounds* / chemistry
Crystallography, X-Ray
Imidazoles* / chemistry
Ions
Molecular Structure

Substances

Bridged-Ring Compounds
Imidazoles
Ions