Expression of Supramolecular Chirality in Aggregates of Chiral Amide-Containing Surfactants

✍ Scribed by N. A. J. M. Sommerdijk; P. J. J. A. Buynsters; H. Akdemir; D. G. Geurts; A. M. A. Pistorius; M. C. Feiters; R. J. M. Nolte; B. Zwanenburg

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 702 KB
• Volume: 4
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0947-6539
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1521-3765(199801)4:1<127::aid-chem127>3.0.co;2-6

✦ Synopsis

The aggregation behaviour of a series of chiral amide-containing surfactants 1 ± 5 is studied in order to assess the structural requirements for the generation of supramolecular chirality. It is found that the presence of hydrogenbonding moieties (i.e., amide groups) in the molecules alone is not sufficient for the formation of chiral aggregates and that the expression of chirality at a higher level, for example in the form of helical structures, strongly depends on the head-group organisation of the sur-factant molecules. By changing the intermolecular interactions between the molecules, for example by pH variation or metal-ion complexation, this headgroup organisation can be tuned in such a way that supramolecular expression of chirality is induced or altered in the aggregates.