Ion-pairing has been implicated in many applications, including; catalysis, sensing, ion transport, drug delivery and chromatography. Both cations and anions have been employed, with similar properties that have been characterized into what is known as the Hofmeister series. While ions have predominantly been used in supramolecular chemistry in the form of ion recognition and ion-pairing assemblies,1,2 very few studies have employed ions in nonspecific associations to form discrete assemblies in solution phase. The resulting supramolecular structures are often supramolecular polymers that have macroscopic properties but lack molecular level size and shape.3 These assemblies often require large coordinating transition metal ions for assembly formation, i.e., molecular organic frameworks (MOFs). Additionally, sodium salicylate is commonly used as a structure-forming additive for micellar formation.4 Furthermore, alkali salts have been observed to stabilize complexes in both the solid and solution state as salt bridges and directed ion stabilization.5 Herein, we report cation mediated assembly states of discrete molecular 12:n-C17H36 dimer to a 14:(n-C17H36)2 tetramer demonstrating the ability to control hydrophobic confinement in aqueous solution.

Salt induced switching of capsular assemblies mirrors the Hofmeister effect

255th National Meeting (2018)

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