High Aspect Ratio Nanotubes Assembled from Macrocyclic Iminium Salts

Abstract

One-dimensional nanostructures such as carbon nanotubes rely on strong and directional interactions that stabilize their high aspect ratio shapes from fracture. This requirement has precluded making isolated, long, thin organic nanotubes by stacking molecular macrocycles, as their noncovalent stacking interactions are generally too weak. Here we report high aspect ratio (>103), lyotropic nanotubes of stacked, macrocyclic, iminium salts, which are formed by protonation of the corresponding imine-linked macrocycles. Iminium ion formation establishes cohesive interactions that are two orders-of-magnitude stronger than the neutral macrocycles, as estimated by molecular dynamics simulations. Nanotube formation stabilizes the iminium ions, which otherwise rapidly hydrolyze, and is reversed and restored upon addition of bases and acids. Acids generated by irradiating a photoacid generator or sonicating chlorinated solvents also induced nanotube assembly, allowing these nanostructures to be coupled to diverse stimuli, and, once assembled, they can be fixed permanently by crosslinking their pendant alkenes. As the largest, and the first macrocyclic chromonic liquid crystals, macrocyclic iminium salts are easily accessible through a modular design and provide a means to rationally synthesize structures that mimic the morphology and rheology of carbon nanotubes and biological tubules.

Content

Supplementary material

2018 03 Sun ChemRxiv SI
Supplementary Video S1 Flow responses of lyotroptic nanotubes
Supplementary Video S2 Simulation of 2 separated MCs with or without protonation
Supplementary Video S3 Simualtion of 2 stacked MCs with or without protonation
Supplementary Video S4 Steered molecular dynamics
Supplementary Video S5 Simulation of 10 stacked MCs
Supplementary Video S6 Simulation of 10 stacked protonated MCs
Supplementary Video S7 Reversible formations of nanotubes
Supplementary Video S8 Light and Sonication induced nanotube assembly