Foldable Polymers
EMSL Project ID
15394
Abstract
We introduce a new class of foldable oligomers consisting of alternating rigid and flexible regions. The rigid segments overlap to give ?-stacked folded conformers whose formation is driven mostly by ??? molecular orbital overlaps. As the oligomer concentration increases, the folded molecular structures further self-assemble into larger nanostructures. The dynamic processes of folding and self-organization are monitored with absorption, fluorescence, and NMR spectroscopies. Our results show that folding dominates at low concentrations (< ~1 mM) and precedes self-assembly, which occurs over the initial concentration range of ~1-100 mM.
Project Details
Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2006-02-06
End Date
2007-03-22
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator