Hydrophobicity Control in Adaptive Crystalline Assemblies.

Authors :: Cohen E
Soffer Y
Weissman H
Bendikov T
Schilt Y
Raviv U
Rybtchinski B
Source :: Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English) [Angew Chem Int Ed Engl] 2018 Jul 16; Vol. 57 (29), pp. 8871-8874. Date of Electronic Publication: 2018 Jun 20.
Publication Year :: 2018
Abstract: An amphiphile based on polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymer and two molecular moieties (perylene diimide and C <subscript>7</subscript> fluoroalkyl, PDI and C <subscript>7</subscript> F) attached to its termini assembles into crystalline films with long-range order. The films reversibly switch from crystalline to amorphous above the PEG melting temperature. The adaptive behavior stems from the responsiveness of the PEG domain and the robustness of the PDI and C <subscript>7</subscript> F assemblies. The hydrophobicity of the film can be controlled by heating, resulting in switching from highly hydrophobic to superhydrophilic. The long-range order, reversible crystallinity switching, and the temperature-controlled wettability demonstrate the potential of block copolymer analogues based on simple polymeric/molecular hybrids.<br /> (© 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)