Stabilization of supramolecular nanostructures induced by self-assembly of dendritic building blocks

Dendrons with amide-urethane branch units and topochemically polymerizable diacetylene moieties at the alkyl periphery were synthesized via a convergent method. They form organized nanostructures in organic media and also in water. In organic media, they form lamella or columnar hexagonal structures depending on the dendron generation. By changing the solvent from organic to aqueous phase, the identical dendritic building blocks self-organize into a vesicular structure. The noncovalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding of the dendritic branches and van der Waals interactions of the alkyl periphery are critical for the construction of organized structures. These supramolecular nanostructures induced via self-assembly of dendritic building blocks could remarkably be stabilized by in situ photopolymerization of topochemically polymerizable diacetylene moieties incorporated at the periphery of the dendrons in organized states.