Breaking Symmetry toward Nonspherical Janus Particles Based on Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes: Molecular Design, “Click” Synthesis, and Hierarchical Structure

• DOI: 10.1021/ja202906m
• Publication Date: 2011-06-17T19:36:00Z
• Authors: Yiwen Li; Wen-Bin Zhang; I-Fan Hsieh; Guoliang Zhang; Yan Cao; Xiaopeng Li; Chrys Wesdemiotis; Bernard Lotz; Huiming Xiong; Stephen Z. D. Cheng
• Keywords: 02 engineering and technology; 0210 nano-technology

The design, synthesis, and self-assembly of a series of precisely defined, nonspherical, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)-based molecular Janus particles are reported. The synthesis aims to fulfill the "click" philosophy by using thiol-ene chemistry to efficiently install versatile functionalities on one of the POSS cages. In such a way, both the geometrical and chemical symmetries were broken to create the Janus feature. These particles self-organize into hierarchically ordered supramolecular structures in the bulk. For example, the Janus particle with isobutyl groups on one POSS and carboxylic groups on the other self-assembles into a bilayered structure with head-to-head, tail-to-tail arrangements of each particle, which further organize into a three-dimensional orthorhombic lattice. While the ordered structure in the layers was lost upon heating via a first-order transition, the bilayered structure persisted throughout. This study provides a model system of well-defined molecular Janus particles for the general understanding of their self-assembly and hierarchical structure formation in the condensed state.