Controlling the assembly of hydrogen-bonded supramolecular polymers by the strategy of molecular tectonics
M.-�. Perron, F. Monchamp, H. Duval, D. Boils-Boissier, and J. D. Wuest
D�partement de Chimie, Universit� de Montr�al, Montr�al,
Qu�bec H3C 3J7, Canada; Xerox Research Centre of Canada, 2660 Speakman
Drive, Mississauga, Ontario L5K 2L1, Canada
Abstract: Studies of how hydrogen bonding can be used to control
molecular association continue to yield exciting discoveries in supramolecular
chemistry. A simple way to make molecules that associate predictably
is to link carefully selected cores to functional groups that form multiple
hydrogen bonds according to reliable patterns. Bifunctional molecules
constructed according to this strategy can associate to form linear
aggregates robust enough to warrant the name supramolecular polymers,
even though the bifunctional monomers are joined only by hydrogen bonds.
More complex molecules with multiple hydrogen-bonding sites can be devised
so that neighbors are held in predetermined positions, giving crystalline
solids with predictable architectures and properties not previously
seen in other materials. Initial studies of the ability of such compounds
to associate in solution and in the molten state suggest that hydrogen-bonded
networks can be purposefully designed to create novel par- tially ordered
liquid materials, including liquid crystals, gels, and fluids with unusual
rheological properties.
*Lecture presented at the symposium "Controlling the self assembly in macromolecular systems: From nature to chemistry to functional properties", as part of the 39th IUPAC Congress and 86th Conference of the Canadian Society for Chemistry: Chemistry at the Interfaces, Ottawa, Canada, 10-15 August 2003. Other Congress presentations are published in this issue, pp. 1295-1603.
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