Controlled Self-Assembly Mediated by the Complexation of Calixpyridinium: Diverse Assembled Morphology, Solid-State Fluorescence, and Iodine Capture Capacity

• Published in: Langmuir 2021-09, Vol.37 (38), p.11422-11428
• Main Authors: Wang, Kui, Gao, Guo-Jie, Wang, Xiao-Yan, Wang, Meng-Meng, Dou, Hong-Xi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0743-7463; 1520-5827
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c02081

It is a great challenge to precisely control the molecules that self-assemble into diverse shapes with diverse properties. Herein, the self-assembled behaviors between calixpyridinium and two pyrenesulfonate guests, 1,3,6,8-pyrenetetrasulfonic acid tetrasodium salt (PyTS) and sodium 1-pyrenesulfonate (PS), were studied. The morphology and property of the two assemblies were quite different. PS guests self-assembled into spherical aggregates upon complexation with calixpyridinium, while the self-assembled rodlike aggregates were formed via the binding between calixpyridinium and PyTS guests. The calixpyridinium–PS supramolecular aggregates could not emit fluorescence in the solid state, while a strong green fluorescence was emitted by the calixpyridinium–PyTS supramolecular aggregates in the solid state. More interestingly and importantly, the solid calixpyridinium–PyTS supramolecular aggregates exhibited an adsorbent ability to iodine in both the aqueous solution and the vapor phase, while the solid calixpyridinium–PS supramolecular aggregates could not capture iodine. The diverse iodine capture capability of the two supramolecular aggregates was determined by the self-assembled structure at the molecular level.