An organogel is obtained when a low molar mass compound forms a network of anisotropic fibres in a liquid that is therefore transformed into a macroscopic solid. Various approaches have been proposed to correlate organogel formation and Hansen solubility parameters. These approaches are well adapted to specific experimental datasets but lack universality. A general method to determine the gelation domain from the solubility data of low molecular weight gelators is here reported.
Janus cylinders are one-dimensional colloids that have two faces with different compositions and functionalities and are useful as building blocks for advanced functional materials. Such anisotropic objects are difficult to prepare with nanometric dimensions. Here we describe a robust and versatile strategy to form micrometer long Janus nanorods with diameters in the 10-nanometer range, by self-assembly in water of end-functionalized polymers. For the first time, the Janus topology is not a result of the phase segregation of incompatible polymer arms, but is driven by the interactions between unsymmetrical and complementary hydrogen bonded stickers. It is therefore independent of the actual polymers used and works even for compatible polymers. To illustrate their applicative potential, we show that these Janus nanorods can efficiently stabilize oil-in-water emulsions.
Polymeric supramolecular nanorods were prepared in toluene by self-assembly of tris(urea) stickers connected on both sides through alkyl spacers of different lengths to short polystyrene (PS) arms. Several tris(urea) initiators or chain transfer agents were synthesized straightforwardly and used to grow well-defined PS arms via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) or reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Self-assembly was investigated by means of Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and light/neutron scattering. A dramatic impact of the spacer separating the tris(urea) sticker from the PS arms on the extent of self-assembly was observed in toluene as long as the degree of polymerization of the PS arms (x) was kept short (x ∼ 10). Indeed, supramolecular nanorods several hundreds of nanometers in length for a few nanometers in radius were obtained with a spacer consisting of nine atoms, whereas five times shorter nanorods were obtained for a spacer of only five atoms, and spherical particles were found in the absence of any spacer, all other parameters remaining unchanged. These results reveal the possibility to tune the length of polymer-decorated supramolecular nanorods with minimal modification of the assembling sticker and without affecting the functionality of the rods.
The synthesis of six new cyclodextrin derivatives having nucleobase moiety is described. These two moieties are linked by different spacers, such as aminoethyl and 1,2,3-triazolyl groups. Example of association constants for complexation of adenine and thymine derivatives: K AT = 385 M-¹ using NMR methodology is reported. Study of interaction between four cyclodextrin derivatives and one adamantyl guest is described by ITC.
An entry from the Cambridge Structural Database, the world’s repository for small molecule crystal structures. The entry contains experimental data from a crystal diffraction study. The deposited dataset for this entry is freely available from the CCDC and typically includes 3D coordinates, cell parameters, space group, experimental conditions and quality measures.
An entry from the Cambridge Structural Database, the world’s repository for small molecule crystal structures. The entry contains experimental data from a crystal diffraction study. The deposited dataset for this entry is freely available from the CCDC and typically includes 3D coordinates, cell parameters, space group, experimental conditions and quality measures.
In the nonlinear regime, the EHUT solutions display some similarities with wormlike micelles. A major difference with wormlike micelles is that in the case of EHUT solutions, the viscoelastic behavior can be switched to the purely viscous behavior. Moreover, the transition has been shown to be fast, reversible, and extremely cooperative: the conversion of thin filaments into thick filaments occurs within a temperature range of 5°C only. In suitable conditions, both wormlike micelles and supramolecular polymers form long reversible chains with similar rheological properties, but there is a most significant difference between them. In contrast, wormlike micelles form because of the overall structure of the monomer: the relevant parameter is the packing parameter measuring the balance between the hydro-phobic tail, the polar head group, and the counterion. Designing a wormlike micelle which would present two different end-caps is certainly a difficult task.
The single chirality of biological molecules in terrestrial biology raises more questions than certitudes about its origin. The emergence of biological homochirality (BH) and its connection with the appearance of life have elicited a large number of theories related to the generation, amplification and preservation of a chiral bias in molecules of life under prebiotically relevant conditions. However, a global scenario is still lacking. Here, the possibility of inducing a significant chiral bias "from scratch", i.e. in the absence of pre-existing enantiomerically-enriched chemical species, will be considered first. It includes phenomena that are inherent to the nature of matter itself, such as the infinitesimal energy difference between enantiomers as a result of violation of parity in certain fundamental interactions, and physicochemical processes related to interactions between chiral organic molecules and physical fields, polarized particles, polarized spins and chiral surfaces. The spontaneous emergence of chirality in the absence of detectable chiral physical and chemical sources has recently undergone significant advances thanks to the deracemization of conglomerates through Viedma ripening and asymmetric auto-catalysis with the Soai reaction. All these phenomena are commonly discussed as plausible sources of asymmetry under prebiotic conditions and are potentially accountable for the primeval chiral bias in molecules of life. Then, several scenarios will be discussed that are aimed to reflect the different debates about the emergence of BH: extra-terrestrial or terrestrial origin (where?), nature of the mechanisms leading to the propagation and enhancement of the primeval chiral bias (how?) and temporal sequence between chemical homochirality, BH and life emergence (when?). Intense and ongoing theories regarding the emergence of optically pure molecules at different moments of the evolution process towards life, i.e. at the levels of building blocks of Life, of the instructed or functional polymers, or even later at the stage of more elaborated chemical systems, will be critically discussed. The underlying principles and the experimental evidence will be commented for each scenario with particular attention on those leading to the induction and enhancement of enantiomeric excesses in proteinogenic amino acids, natural sugars, and their intermediates or derivatives. The aim of this review is to propose an updated and timely synopsis in order to stimulate new efforts in this interdisciplinary field.
