The chemical structure of amphiphilic molecules can be tuned to achieve self-assembly in water, forming complex, chemically diverse nanostructures with dimensions of molecular length scales. Aromatic amide (aramid) amphiphiles are a class of self-assembling small molecules that form nanoribbons with strong and collective hydrogen bonding down the long axis. Aramid amphiphiles self-assemble into stable, mechanically robust nanofibers with high and tunable surface areas, and are therefore promising for a variety of previously unexplored applications. An important consideration in the design of these structures is the accessibility of the nanoribbon surface to solutes — a property that is mediated by surface water dynamics. Here I will discuss my work in modifying surface water dynamics by synthesizing new aramid amphiphiles with chaotropic hydrophilic domains, as well as ongoing work to determine the influence of chaotropic surface groups on the reactivity of surface-bound moieties.

Tuning surface water structure at the interface of supramolecular nanoribbons

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.