Visualizing the Initial Step of Self-Assembly and the Phase Transition by Stereogenic Amphiphiles with Aggregation-Induced Emission
Abstract
Many highly ordered structures with smart functions are generated by self-assembly with stimuli responsiveness. Despite that electron microscopes enable us to directly observe the end products, it is hard to visualize the initial step and the kinetic stimuli-responsive behavior of self-assembly. Here, we report the design and synthesis of stereogenic amphiphiles, namely, ( Z)-TPE-OEG and ( E)-TPE-OEG, with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics from the hydrophobic tetraphenylethene core and thermoresponsive behavior from the hydrophilic oligoethylene glycol monomethyl ether chain. The two isomers can be easily isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography and characterized by 2D NMR spectroscopy. While ( Z)-TPE-OEG self-assembles into vesicles, its ( E)-cousin forms micelles in water. The initial step of their self-assembly processes can be visualized based on AIE characteristics, with a sensitivity much higher than the method based on transmittance measurement. The entrapment and release capabilities of the ( Z)-stereogenic amphiphile are demonstrated by employing pyrene as a guest. The thermoresponsive behavior of the ( Z)-amphiphile results in its continuous phase transition from microscopic self-assembly to macroscopic aggregation, which is successfully visualized in situ by confocal laser scanning microscopy accompanied by the AIE technique. Such a kinetic process shows different stages according to the microscopic visualization, and these stages have never been monitored through roughly observing the appearance of precipitates. It is anticipated that this study can deepen the understanding of the self-assembly processes for better monitoring and controlling them in different systems.
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- Authors
- Peng, H.-Q., Liu, B., Wei, P., Zhang, P., Zhang, H., Zhang, J., Li, K., Li, Y., Cheng, Y., Lam, J. W. Y., Zhang, W., Lee, C.-S., & Tang, B. Z.
- Affiliations
- Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HK)
- City University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Corresponding author
- Tang, Ben Zhong
- ORCID
- Venue
- ACS Nano
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2018-12-11
- Volume
- 13
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 839-846
- ISSN
- 1936-0851 (ISSN-L)
- 1936-086X
- OpenAlex
- W2904138090
- Cited by
- 94
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 21 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 9
- FWCI
- 4.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- ACS Nano (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Rare & Special e-Zone (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee (C6009-17G, 16305015, N_HKUST604/14, 16308016)
- Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC-CNERC14SC01, ITS/254/17)
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (21788102, 81372274, 8141101080, 81501591)
- Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission (JCYJ20160229205601482, JCYJ20170818113602462, JCYJ20170818113348852)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Organic Chemistry › Surfactants and Colloidal Systems
- Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Organic Chemistry › Advanced Polymer Synthesis and Characterization
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Luminescence and Fluorescent Materials
- Keywords
- aggregation-induced emission, tetraphenylethylene, thermoresponsive behavior, self-assembly kinetics, phase transitions, vesicles, micelles, guest release, isomer separation, stimuli-responsive materials
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