The effect of multiple pairs of meta-dicarboxyl groups on molecular self-assembly and the selective adsorption of coronene by hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces

• Published in: Nano research 2022-02, Vol.15 (2), p.1691-1697
• Main Authors: Li, Jianqiao, Luo, Wendi, Zhang, Siqi, Ma, Chunyu, Xiao, Xunwen, Duan, Wubiao, Zeng, Qingdao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acids; Adsorption; Atomic/Molecular Structure and Spectra; Biomedicine; Biotechnology; Chemistry and Materials Science; Condensed Matter Physics; Dicarboxylic acids; Dimers; Ethene; Ethylene; Hydrogen bonding; Lamellar structure; Materials Science; Nanotechnology; Pyrolytic graphite; Quadrilaterals; Research Article; Selective adsorption; Self-assembly; Steric hindrance; Van der Waals forces
• ISSN: 1998-0124; 1998-0000
• DOI: 10.1007/s12274-021-3871-4

The prediction of two-dimensional molecular self-assembly structures has always been a problem to be solved. The molecules with meta-dicarboxyl groups can self-assemble into a specific hexagonal cavity, which has an important influence on the prediction of molecular self-assembly structures and the application of functional molecules with meta-dicarboxyl groups. Two kinds of molecules with four pairs of meta-dicarboxyl groups, 1,3,6,8-tetrakis(3,5-isophthalic acid)pyrene (H 8 TIAPy) and 4′,4′″,4″″′,4″″″′-(ethene-1,1,2,2-tetrayl)tetrakis(([1,1′-biphenyl]-3,5-dicarboxylic acid)) (H 8 ETTB) molecules were chosen to observe the self-assembly behavior at the heptanoic acid/highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HA/HOPG) interface. H 8 TIAPy molecules self-assembled into well-ordered quadrilateral structures and could be regulated into kagomé networks with hexagonal pores by coronene (COR) molecules. H 8 ETTB molecules self-assembled into lamellar structures and transformed into acid-COR-acid-COR co-assembled structures at low concentration of COR solution and acid-COR dimer-acid-COR dimer co-assembled structures at high concentration of COR solution. The reason that H 8 ETTB molecules could not be regulated into hexagonal porous architecture was attributed to the steric hindrance by the similar length and width of H 8 ETTB molecules. The H 8 ETTB templates had stronger adsorption for COR than that of hexaphenylbenzene (HPB), regardless of the order of molecular introduction.