ZB 10 - Soft Condensed Matter (R. Holyst)

Self-Stabilized Giant Aggregates in Water from Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids with an Asymmetric Polar-Apolar-Polar Architecture

Author(s): Zhang, Geping and Zhu, Hongxia and Chen, Jingfei and Chen, Mengjun and Tomasz and Holyst, Robert and Li, Hongguang and Hao, Jingcheng
Title: Self-Stabilized Giant Aggregates in Water from Room-Temperature Ionic Liquids with an Asymmetric Polar-Apolar-Polar Architecture
Abstract: We report the assembly of four imidazolium bromides, each of which bears naphthyl on one side of the imidazolium cation and a branched alkyl on the other. This design creates a new type of amphiphilic ionic with an apolar-polar-apolar structure and a low melting point <-20 degrees C), which has not been achieved by reported bearing linear alkyl chains. In solvent-free states, segregation occurs where polar and apolar domains arrange as proved by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. When in water, self-stabilized giant aggregates formed with colloidal stability (up to years). MD simulations provide of discrete bicontinuous phases within the giant aggregates. These discovered self-assemblies provide a heterogeneous reservoir that accommodate guest molecules including the highly apolar fullerene C-60, paving the way for a wide range of potential applications.
Pages: 4651-4660
Journal: JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B
Publisher: AMER CHEMICAL SOC
Addres: 1155 16TH ST, NW, WASHINGTON, DC 20036 USA
Volume: 124
ID: ISI:000538640100025
Year: 2020
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c02283