Laboratory of Macromolecular and Organic Chemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MD, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Institute for Complex Molecular Systems, Eindhoven University of Technology, Post Office Box 513, 5600, MD Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Sci Rep. 2018 Jan 19;8(1):1271. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-19282-5.
To tailor the properties of colloidal materials, precise control over the self-assembly of their constituents is a prerequisite. Here, we govern the assembly of silica particles by functionalization with supramolecular moieties which interact with each other via directional and reversible hydrogen bonding. Through a generally applicable synthesis protocol, two different types of self-complementary hydrogen bonding moieties, BTA- and UPy-derivatives, are anchored to silica particles. Their self-assembly is initiated by the UV-induced removal of a photolabile protecting group, allowing the formation of hydrogen bonds between tethered molecules. The light-induced assembly of BTA- and UPy-decorated colloids in single-component dispersions and colloidal self-sorting in mixed dispersions is studied. Furthermore, we demonstrate that UPy-colloids can dissasemble upon addition of traces of a competitive binder (NaPy). This work provides further insight into the utility of supramolecular handles to orchestrate the assembly of micron-sized colloids via non-oligonucleotide hydrogen-bonding units.
为了调整胶体材料的性能，精确控制其组成部分的自组装是先决条件。在这里，我们通过功能化超分子片段来控制二氧化硅颗粒的组装，这些超分子片段通过定向和可逆氢键相互作用。通过一种通用的合成方案，两种不同类型的自互补氢键片段，BTA-和 UPy-衍生物，被锚定在二氧化硅颗粒上。它们的自组装是通过紫外光诱导去除光不稳定保护基团来引发的，从而允许连接分子之间形成氢键。研究了 BTA-和 UPy-修饰胶体在单组分分散体中的光诱导组装和胶体自分类在混合分散体中的情况。此外，我们证明了 UPy-胶体在加入痕量竞争结合剂（NaPy）时可以解组装。这项工作进一步证明了超分子手柄在通过非寡核苷酸氢键单元来协调微米级胶体组装方面的实用性。
