Achieving the co-assembly of more than one component represents an important challenge in the drive to create functional self-assembled nanomaterials. Multicomponent nanomaterials comprised of several discrete, spatially sorted domains of components with high degrees of internal order are particularly important for applications such as optoelectronics. In this work, single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) were threaded through the inner channel of nanotubes formed by the bolaamphiphilic self-assembly of a naphthalenediimide-lysine (NDI-Bola) monomer. The self-assembly process was driven by electrostatic interactions, as indicated by ζ -potential measurements, and cation–π interactions between the surface of the SWNT and the positively charged, NDI-Bola nanotube interior. To increase the threading efficiency, the NDI-Bola nanotubes were fragmented into shortened segments with lengths of <100 nm via sonication-induced shear, prior to co-assembly with the SWNTs. The threading process created an initial composite nanostructure in which the SWNTs were threaded by multiple, shortened segments of the NDI-Bola nanotube that progressively re-elongated along the SWNT surface into a continuous radial coating around the SWNT. The resultant composite structure displayed NDI-Bola wall thicknesses twice that of the parent nanotube, reflecting a bilayer wall structure, as compared to the monolayer structure of the parent NDI-Bola nanotube. As a final, co-axial outer layer, poly( p -phenyleneethynylene) (PPE-SO 3 Na, M W = 5.76 × 10 4 , PDI – 1.11) was wrapped around the SWNT/NDI-Bola composite resulting in a three-component (SWNT/NDI-Bola/PPE-SO 3 Na) composite nanostructure.
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Co-assembly of a multicomponent network of nanofiber-wrapped nanotubes
Strategies to create organized multicomponent nanostructures composed of discrete, self-sorted domains are important for developing materials that mimic the complexity and multifunctionality found in biological systems. These structures can be challenging to achieve due to the required balance of molecular self-recognition and supramolecular attraction needed between the components. Herein, we report a strategy to construct a two-component nanostructure via a hierarchical assembly process whereby two monomeric building blocks undergo self-sorting assembly at the molecular level followed by a supramolecular association to form a nanofiber-wrapped nanotube. The two molecules self-sorted into respective nanofiber and nanotube assemblies, yet assembly of the nanofibers in the presence of the nanotube template allowed for directed integration into a hierarchical multilayer structure via electrostatic interactions. The fiber-wrapped nanotube co-assembly was characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the components. Strategies to co-assemble multicomponent nanostructures composed of discrete, spatially sorted domains with controllable higher level interactions will be critical for the development of novel, functionally competent nanomaterials.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2106924
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10332338
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Nanoscale
- Volume:
- 14
- Issue:
- 12
- ISSN:
- 2040-3364
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 4531 to 4537
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1039/D1NR08508E
