Dong, X.-H.; Ni, B.; Huang, M.; Hsu, C.-H.; Bai, R.; Zhang, W.-B.;* Shi, A.-C.;* Cheng, S. Z. D.* Molecular-Curvature-Induced Spontaneous Formation of Curved and Concentric Lamellae through Nucleation. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 2459-2463. [Link] [PDF]
 

   

 
Abstract
Spontaneous formation of concentric lamellae was observed in self-assembling giant surfactants consisting of a fluorinated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (FPOSS) head and flexible polymer tail(s). Owing to the asymmetrical sizes of the head and tail blocks and the rectangular molecular interface, the giant surfactants assumed a truncated-wedge-like molecular shape, which induced morphological curvature during self-assembly, thus resulting in the formation of curved and concentric lamellae. These curved/concentric lamellae were observed in FPOSS-based giant surfactants with different architectures and compositions. The spontaneous curvature formation not only promotes our fundamental understanding of assembly principles, but also provides a promising and efficient approach to the fabrication of a wide range of high-performance devices.