Tunable Helical Assemblies of L-Alanine Methyl Ester-Containing Polyphenylacetylene

摘要

The self-assemblying behaviors of amino acid containing polyphenyiacetylene (PPA-Ala,in Chart 1) were investigated upon the evaporation of its solvent on mica and on air/water interfaces.The introduction of chiral amino acid attachments to the polyphenylacetylene backboneinduced a helical conformation of the backbone,which was stabilized by various noncovalent interactions,especially hydrophobic effect and hydrogen bonds.The helicity of the polymer was further amplified in its higher-order selfassemblies as the formation of helical fibers on the surface of mica upon natural evaporation of its THF solution.