Hierarchical self assembly

Osuji C, Ferreira P, Mao G, Ober C, Vander J, Thomas EL. 2004. Alignment of self assembled hierarchical microstructure in liquid crystalline diblock copolymers using high magnetic fields. Macromolecules 37 9903 9908. 

The self-assembled hierarchic patterns of nanoparticles were observed by optical microscope (Olympus STM, object lens ULWD MSPlanSO). 

Figure 6.11 (a) Chemical structure of the block copolymer components designed to self-assemble hierarchically by H-bonding interactions between the blocks. PEO-b-P(S-r-4HS), poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(styrene-r-4-hydroxystyrene) P(S-r-4VP)-b-PMMA), poly (styrene-r-4-vinylpyridine)-b-poly(methyl methacrylate)], (b) Transmission electron microscopy image of a solvent-annealed blend fibn of supramolecular block copolymers, (c) A cartoon illustrating the final fibn structure and the block copolymer chain packing. 

Scheme 6 Schematic synthesis of a self-assembled hierarchical superstructure.

The formation of micelles with coordination polymer has unveiled a new way to produce water-soluble inorganic/organic hybrid self-assembled hierarchical structures. A range of functional metal ions can be incorporated in the core so that these C3Ms... 

Zhong and co-workers described a template-free method to synthesize ceria microdisks." Self-assembled hierarchical Ce(S04)2 microdisks were synthesized via a solvothermal method as an intermediate product. After calcination at 1100°C, ceria microdisks were obtained. 

To be successful in these applications, it is important that materials can self-assemble into precisely defined structures. Peptide-based polymers have many advantages over conventional synthetic polymers since they are able to hierarchically assemble into stable, ordered conformations [4]. Depending on the substituents of the amino acid side chain, polypeptides are able to adopt a multitude of... 

Fig. 10 (a-f) Hierarchical self-assembly model for chiral rod-like units A curly tape (c ), a twisted ribbon (d ), a fibril (e ) and a fibre (f). Adapted from Aggeli et al. [20], Copyright 2001 National Academy of Sciences, USA... 

Pouget E, Dujardin E, Cavalier A et al (2007) Hierarchical architectures by synergy between dynamical template self- assembly and biomineralization. Nat Mater 6 434-439... 

Fig. 10.12 (A) The cation-templated hierarchic self-assembly of guanine alkoxysilane gives the C-quartet and (B) the G-quadruplex transcribed in solid hybrid materials by the sol-gel process.

Figure 5.24 Model of hierarchical self-assembly of chiral rodlike monomers.109 (a) Local arrangements (c-f) and corresponding global equilibrium conformations (c -f) for hierarchical selfassembling structures formed in solutions of chiral molecules (a), which have complementary donor and acceptor groups, shown by arrows, via which they interact and align to form tapes (c). Black and the white surfaces of rod (a) are reflected in sides of helical tape (c), which is chosen to curl toward black side (c ). (b) Phase diagram of solution of twisted ribbons that form fibrils. Scaled variables relative helix pitch of isolated ribbons h hh /a. relative side-by-side attraction energy between fibrils eaur/e. Reprinted with permission from Ref. 109. Copyright 2001 by the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A.

Figure 6.9 Schematic representation of hierarchical self-assembly process for chiral phthalocya-nine 64. Phthalocyanine molecules self-assembly into helical columns with right-handed screw sense (left). These right-handed helices subsequently aggregate to give left-handed super-helices.

Chirality is an essential property of life, which can be found throughout all biological self-assembled and self-organized architectures. Over many millennia nature has, through trial and error, learned how to utilize the chiral properties of the small building blocks, for example, amino acids and nucleic acids and how to express this structural property in a hierarchical process at the quaternary level. This expression of chirality at the quaternary level in turn... 

Dalton AB, Ortiz-Acevedo A, Zorbas V, Brunner E, Sampson WM, Collins L, Razal JM, Yoshida MM, Baughman RH, Draper RK, Musselman IH, Jose-Yacaman M, Dieckmann GR (2004) Hierarchical self-assembly of peptide-coated carbon nanotubes. Adv. Funct. Mater. 14 1147-1151. 

Nanoparticles bearing a so-called three-dimensional self-assembled monolayer (3D-SAM) [136] coating or shell are ideal construction units for programmed, hierarchical self-assembly of larger objects [137]. Several research groups have successfully assembled functionalized nanoparticles into large nanocrystalline arrays... 

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