Self-assembly of fullerene-based janus particles in solution: Effects of molecular architecture and solvent

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/chem.201402697

Two molecular Janus particles based on amphiphilic [60]fullerene (C ₆₀) derivatives were designed and synthesized by using the regioselective Bingel-Hirsh reaction and the click reaction. These particles contain carboxylic acid functional groups, a hydrophilic fullerene (AC ₆₀), and a hydrophobic C₆₀ in different ratios and have distinct molecular architectures: 1:1 (AC₆₀-C₆₀) and 1:2 (AC₆₀-2C₆₀). These molecular Janus particles can self-assemble in solution to form aggregates with various types of micellar morphology. Whereas vesicular morphology was observed for both AC ₆₀-C₆₀ and AC₆₀-2C₆₀ in tetrahydrofuran, in a mixture of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF)/water, spherical micelles and cylindrical micelles were observed for AC₆₀-C ₆₀ and AC₆₀-2C₆₀, respectively. A mechanism of formation was tentatively proposed based on the effects of molecular architecture and solvent polarity on self-assembly.

Full text of DOI:10.1002/chem.201402697

DOI: 10.1002/chem.201402697
Communication
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Janus Particles
Self-Assembly of Fullerene-Based Janus Particles in Solution:
Effects of Molecular Architecture and Solvent
Zhiwei Lin,[a] Pengtao Lu,[a] Chih-Hao Hsu,[a] Kan Yue,[a] Xue-Hui Dong,[a] Hao Liu,[a] Kai Guo,[a]
Chrys Wesdemiotis,[a, b] Wen-Bin Zhang,*[a, c] Xinfei Yu,*[a] and Stephen Z. D. Cheng*[a]
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functionality that can retain their asymmetrical geometry and
chemistry during self-assembly remains largely unexplored.
Recently, molecular nanoparticles have been conceptually
proposed as the elemental nano-building blocks, or “nano-
atoms” for building precise macromolecules.[4] Nano-atoms are
shape- and volume-persistent molecular nanoparticles, such as
[60]fullerene (C60), polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes
(POSS), polyoxometalates (POM), and folded globular pro-
teins.[4] They possess precisely-defined primary chemical struc-
tures and surface functionalities, and are ready for precise syn-
thesis of giant molecules utilizing efficient methods such as
the sequential click approach.[8] MJPs based on POSS[9] and
POM[10] derivatives have been reported to self-organize into bi-
layer structures in the bulk. Yet the examples are rare. It is thus
of interest to further expand the scope of MJPs and investigate
how they can be directed to assemble into different hierarchi-
cal structures, and how to further promote transformations
and amplifications of microscopic functionalities towards mac-
roscopic properties.[9a,11]
Abstract: Two molecular Janus particles based on amphi-
philic [60]fullerene (C60) derivatives were designed and
synthesized by using the regioselective Bingel–Hirsh reac-
tion and the click reaction. These particles contain carbox-
ylic acid functional groups, a hydrophilic fullerene (AC60),
and a hydrophobic C60 in different ratios and have distinct
molecular architectures: 1:1 (AC60–C60) and 1:2 (AC60–2C60).
These molecular Janus particles can self-assemble in solu-
tion to form aggregates with various types of micellar
morphology. Whereas vesicular morphology was observed
for both AC60–C60 and AC60–2C60 in tetrahydrofuran, in
a mixture of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF)/water, spheri-
cal micelles and cylindrical micelles were observed for
AC60–C60 and AC60–2C60, respectively. A mechanism of for-
mation was tentatively proposed based on the effects of
molecular architecture and solvent polarity on self-assem-
bly.
Among those molecular nanoparticles, C60 is a spherical
nanoparticle with truncated icosahedral (Ih) symmetry. Surfaces
of C60 can be precisely functionalized by regioselective chemi-
cal reactions.[12] Several C60-based amphiphiles have exhibited
interesting self-assembly behaviors in solution.[13] For instance,
a series of pentasubstituted fullerene potassium salts can self-
assemble into bilayer vesicles in THF/water.[13d–f] We have re-
cently synthesized new C60 derivatives bearing ten carboxylic
acid functional group (AC60) and further tethered them with
one or two polystyrene (PS) tails to construct a new class of
giant surfactants.[14] With increasing initial molecular concentra-
tion or the PS tail length, micellar morphologies can be tuned
from spheres, to cylinders, and finally, to vesicles. The PS tails
are recognized to be stretched in their micelles, similar to
small molecular surfactants.[8c,14–15]
Since the concept of “Janus grains” was introduced by de
Gennes and co-workers,[1] tremendous attention has been paid
on their symmetry-breaking structures, self-assembly behavior,
and unique properties.[2] Progress have been made on the
design and synthesis of organic/inorganic micellar or colloidal
Janus particles with the availability of sophisticated synthetic
techniques.[3] In those studies, the size of these Janus particles
usually ranges from hundreds of nanometers to micrometers.
If a Janus grain is based on a well-defined molecular structure
with nanometer size and persistent shape, it may be consid-
ered a molecular Janus particle (MJP).[2c,4] There are two types
of symmetry breaking for MJPs: geometric and chemical sym-
metry. Various efforts have so far been made to prepare MJPs
with flexible conformations, example being amphiphilic den-
drimers,[5] block copolymers,[6] and polymeric brushes,[7] all of
which can self-assemble into intriguing structures in bulk[5a]
and solution.[5b,c] However, the construction of MJPs as precise-
ly-defined molecular nanoparticles of fixed shape, volume, and
Herein, we report on the design, synthesis, and self-assembly
of two new MJPs based on C60, namely, AC60–C60 and AC60–
2C60, by clicking a hydrophilic AC60 with one or two hydropho-
bic C60. The resulting amphiphilic MJPs are expected to exhibit
self-assembly behaviors that depend on the solvent system.
AC60–C60 and AC60–2C60 are synthesized by combining the re-
gioselective Bingel–Hirsh reaction[16] and the highly efficient
Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition click reaction,[17] as outlined
in Scheme 1. Monotethered C60 derivative 2 with an azide
group was prepared by reaction of compound 1 with C60
under the Bingel reaction conditions.[16a] Precisely defined
[5:1]-hexakisadducts of C60, with one (3a) or two (3b) terminal
alkyne groups and ten protected carboxylic acid groups, were
synthesized based on the procedures described in our previ-
ous publication.[14] The azide–alkyne click reaction[18] was suc-
cessfully utilized to link the monofunctionalized C60 (2) with
the surface-modified C60 derivatives (3a–b) in high yields (ꢀ
80%), resulting in conjugates of a protected carboxylic acid
group functionalized C60 tethered with one (4a, tC60–C60) or
two C60s (4b, tC60–2C60). The disappearance of the azide reso-
nance at ca. 2100 cmꢁ1 and the alkyne resonance at
ca. 3300 cmꢁ1 in the IR spectra of 4a–b provides evidence of
the successful reaction between 2 and 3a–b (see Figure S1 in
[a] Z. Lin, P. Lu, C.-H. Hsu, Dr. K. Yue, Dr. X.-H. Dong, H. Liu, K. Guo,
Prof. C. Wesdemiotis, Dr. W.-B. Zhang, Dr. X. Yu, Prof. S. Z. D. Cheng
Department of Polymer Science
College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering
The University of Akron, 170 University Ave.
Akron, Ohio, 44325-3909 (USA)
Fax: (+1)330-972-8626
E-mail: wenbin@pku.edu.cn
xy5@zips.uakron.edu
scheng@uakron.edu
[b] Prof. C. Wesdemiotis
Department of Chemistry
The University of Akron
Akron, Ohio, 44325-3601 (USA)
[c] Dr. W.-B. Zhang
Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry & Physics of Ministry of Education
College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering
Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering
Peking University, Beijing 100871 (P. R. China)
Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW under
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.201402697.
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Scheme 1. Synthetic route to AC60–C60 and AC60–2C60. Reaction conditions: i) C60, toluene, I2, DBU, RT (2, 51%); ii) toluene, CuBr, PMDETA, RT (4a, 81%; 4b,
80%); iii) CH2Cl2, CF3COOH, RT (5a, >90%; 5b, >90%). DBU=1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene, PMDETA=N,N,N’,N’’,N’’-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine.
the Supporting Information). The amphiphilic final products,
namely, AC60–C60 (5a) and AC60–2C60 (5b), were obtained upon
deprotection of the tert-butyl esters groups of 4a–b. Chemical
structures of AC60–C60 and AC60–2C60 were unambiguously con-
1
firmed by their H NMR and 13C NMR spectra (see Figures S2–
S5 in the Supporting Information). Moreover, the most con-
vincing evidence is given by matrix-assisted laser desorption/
ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectra as shown in
Figure 1. Monoisotopic mass peaks observed at m/z=2911.3
for AC60–C60 and 3882.4 for AC60–2C60 are in good agreement
Figure 2. TEM images and DLS results of self-assembled vesicles of a) and c)
for AC60–C60, b) and d) for AC60–2C60 in THF.
Figure 1. MALDI-TOF mass spectra of a) AC60–C60 and b) AC60–2C60.
with the calculated values, which are 2911.1 and 3882.2, re-
spectively.
by the bright-field TEM images shown in Figure 2a and 2b.
The overall layer thicknesses of these vesicles was measured to
be around 12–16 nm from TEM images. Because the layer
thickness values are much larger than the long-axis dimensions
of AC60–C60 and AC60–2C60, which are ca. 4 nm in the fully ex-
tended conformation (see Figure S6 in the Supporting Informa-
tion), it is suggested that the vesicles are constructed by
a double-layer molecular packing model.[13d–f,19] The vesicular
morphologies were further confirmed by light scattering ex-
The micellar behaviors of these MJPs are of great interest
because they possess distinct molecular architectures and con-
sist of shape and volume-persistent molecular nanoparticles.
Self-assembly of these MJPs in solution was investigated by
using two different strategies (see the Supporting Information
for details). For both AC60–C60 and AC60–2C60, when following
the first strategy, vesicles were observed in THF, as suggested
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periments. As shown in Figure 2c and 2d, the hydrodynamic
radii (Rh) of the vesicles obtained from dynamic light scattering
(DLS) measurements are ca. 60 nm and ca. 79 nm for AC60–C60
and AC60–2C60, respectively, values that are consistent with the
average radii measured from TEM images (ca. 57 nm for AC60–
C60 and ca. 82 nm for AC60–2C60). Furthermore, the radii of gyra-
tion (Rg) of the vesicles measured by static light scattering
(SLS) are ca. 56 and ca. 79 nm, respectively (see Figure S7 in
the Supporting Information). The measured ratios of Rg/Rh are
thus both close to unity (0.93 for AC60–C60 and 1.0 for AC60-
2C60), validating the formation of self-assembled vesicular
structures.[13f]
Figure 3. TEM images of the self-assembled micelles of a) AC60–C60 and b)
AC60–2C60 in the solution of DMF with an initial concentration of 0.5 wt%;
water was added dropwise to reach a water content of 80 wt%.
The driving force for micellar formation in THF must be at-
tributed to the aggregation of hydrophobic C60 particles be-
cause THF is a poor solvent for C60 at room temperature.
Therefore, the outer and inner layers of the vesicles are formed
by AC60, while the hydrophobic C60s are located in the middle
region between these two AC60 layers to form a bilayer struc-
ture in the vesicles. This is also consistent with the previously
reported self-assembled bilayer vesicles from amphiphilic full-
erene derivatives in fullerene-phobic solvents.[13d–f,19] Interest-
ingly, when the vesicles are subjected to ultrasonication in THF
solution, the measured Rh value remains constant for at least
5 h (see Figure S8 in the Supporting Information), indicating
that the vesicles prepared in THF are quite stable and robust.
This can be attributed to the p–p interaction between the hy-
drophobic C60s (minor) and the strong hydrogen-bonding in-
teraction between the hydrophilic AC60s (major).
scattering angles to zero, as shown in Figure S12 in the Sup-
porting Information. Furthermore, the Rg values of the cylin-
ders was measured to be ca. 308ꢂ5 nm (see Figure S13 in the
Supporting Information). The ratio of Rg/Rh is thus ca. 2.7,
which further confirms the formation of cylinders from AC60–
2C60.
The formation of micelles with various morphologies from
these two MJPs could be rationalized as put forward by Israel-
achvili et al.[20] The self-assembled structures of amphiphiles
can be predicted by the packing parameter (P), which is de-
fined as:
P ¼ V=ðAlcÞ
To reveal the effect of molecular architectures on the self-as-
sembly behaviors of these two MJPs, we further studied their
self-assembly in DMF/water following the second strategy. The
critical water concentrations (CCWC) for AC60–C60 and AC60–2C60
to form micelles were determined to be 13.7 wt% and
2.2 wt%, respectively (see Figure S9 in the Supporting Informa-
tion). The difference in the CCWC values can be attributed to the
largely increased hydrophobicity of AC60–2C60 compared to
AC60–C60. Despite the CCWC difference, we choose to explore
and compare the morphologies of these two self-assembled
MJPs at relatively high and identical water contents. Therefore,
AC60–C60 and AC60–2C60 were first dissolved in DMF at an initial
concentration of 0.5 wt% and then water was added dropwise
to reach a final water content of 80 wt%. Surprisingly, spherical
micelles with an average diameter of ca. 8 nm are observed for
AC60–C60, as shown in Figure 3a; while worm-like cylinders
with an average diameter of ca. 13 nm and an aspect ratio
larger than 10 are observed for AC60–2C60 under identical con-
ditions (Figure 3b).
where V is the volume occupied by the hydrophobic moiety, lc
is the critical length of the hydrophobic moiety, and A is the
optimal area occupied by the hydrophilic moiety.
Based on this argument, the preferred self-assembled struc-
tures of amphiphilic molecules vary with increasing P from
spheres (P<1/3), to cylinders (1/3<P<1/2), to vesicles (1/2<
P<1). In our system, because hydrophobic C60 possesses
a well-defined structure with a fixed volume, the value of VC60
and lC60 can be obtained from the volume and diameter of C60,
respectively (VC60 =0.52 nm3 and lC60 =1 nm).[21] For the hydro-
philic AC60, its smallest AAC60 can be estimated to be 1.5 nm2 in
the solution without considering solvation of the surface car-
boxylic acid groups.[22] This serves as the lowest limit for the
value of AAC60. When using these values to calculate the P
value of AC60–C60 and AC60–2C60, it turns out that PAC60–C60
=
0.35 (ꢀ1/3) and PAC60–2C60 =0.69 (>1/2), indicating that the mi-
celles of AC60–C60 are near the boundaries between the cylin-
ders and spheres (but on the cylinder side), while the micelles
of AC60–2C60 are located in the vesicular phase.
To obtain the average macroscopic values of these micelles,
DLS experiments were performed. As shown in Figure S10 in
the Supporting Information, the Rh of the spherical micelles
from AC60–C60 has a relatively broad distribution centered at
around 3 nm, which is qualitatively consistent with that mea-
sured from TEM images. The formation of cylinders from AC60–
2C60 can also be verified by the fact that the Rh values vary
upon changing the scattering angles in DLS experiments (see
Figure S11 in the Supporting Information). The Rh value of the
cylinders is estimated to be 115ꢂ10 nm by extrapolating the
In reality, however, the hydrodynamic size of AC60 is expect-
ed to increase as the degree of ionization (a) of carboxylic acid
groups increases.[14] Therefore, it is necessary to consider the
effect of the value of a on the value of AAC60 in pure THF and
the mixture of DMF/water. The a value can be estimated
based on the results of FT-IR spectroscopy as a first approxima-
tion.[15] Figures S14 and S15 in the Supporting Information
show four FT-IR spectra of the micelle solutions prepared in
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both THF and DMF/water mixtures for two samples. The high-
lighted absorption bands at ca. 1740 cmꢁ1 and ca. 1620 cmꢁ1
are attributed to the C=O stretching band of the native COOH
and ionized group COOꢁ, respectively.[15] As exhibited in Fig-
ure S14a and S15a in the Supporting Information, because the
a value of carboxylic acid groups for AC60 in THF is rather low
(ca. 20%), the A value of AC60 in THF can still be approximated
by 1.5 nm2. It gives rise to a P value of 0.35 and 0.69 for AC60–
cal double-thickness values of interdigitated layers and bilayers
are calculated as 7.6 nm and 9.6 nm, respectively, by assuming
that the diameter of C60 is 1.0 nm and that the diameter of
AC60 is 1.4 nm (which is estimated from AAC60 =1.5 nm2 in THF).
Because it is difficult for the layers of C60 and AC60 to pack
closely after micelle collapse, the theoretical thicknesses of in-
terdigitated layers and bilayers are smaller than the measured
ones. Nevertheless, the theoretically calculated ratio between
the thickness values of interdigitated layers and bilayers is
0.79, which is in good agreement with the measured ratio
(0.77). Therefore, the bilayer and interdigitated packing models
are at least partially confirmed.
C60 and AC60–2C60 in THF, respectively. Based on this estimation,
we should observe micelles of cylindrical morphology (1/3<
P<1/2) for AC60–C60 and of vesicular morphology (1/2<P<1)
for AC60–2C60. In Figure 2, the vesicles are indeed observed for
AC60–2C60. However, experimentally, AC60–C60 also forms vesi-
cles in THF, which differs from that predicted by using calcula-
tions.
In the DMF/water system, a much higher a value is observed
(ca. 50%), which results in a larger A value of AC60. As a result,
as long as A>1.5 nm2, PAC60–C60 would decrease to below 1/3,
suggesting a sphere morphology. In the case of AC60–2C60, it is
even more difficult to estimate the PAC60ꢁ2C60 value. We specu-
late that it is between 1/3 and 1/2, when the AAC60 value is in
somewhere between 2.1 and 3.1 nm2, suggesting micelles of
cylindrical morphology in the mixture of DMF/water.
To provide a reasonable explanation for this discrepancy, we
put our argument forward in the following way: as described
above, AC60 particles are located at both the outside and the
inside surfaces of the vesicles, while the C60 particles are locat-
ed in the middle of the vesicles owing to the poor solubility of
C60 in THF. We further propose that within the vesicles of AC60–
C60, the C60 particles are arranged in an interdigitated packing
manner (Figure 4a). In contrast, the C60 particles form a bilayer
within the vesicles of AC60–2C60, as schematically shown in Fig-
In summary, two precisely defined fullerene-based MJPs with
distinct molecular architectures (AC60–C60 and AC60–2C60) were
designed and synthesized through regioselective sequential
Bingel–Hirsh reactions and click reactions. Self-assembly of
these two MJPs has been investigated in solution. In THF, vesi-
cles with interdigitated and bilayer molecular packing arrange-
ments have been observed for AC60–C60 and AC60–2C60, respec-
tively. In the DMF/water system, however, micelles of spherical
and cylindrical morphology are formed for AC60–C60 and AC60–
2C60, respectively. The degree of ionization of the carboxylic
acid groups on AC60 plays an essential role in influencing their
packing parameters (P) and determining the micelle morpholo-
gy in different solvent systems. This work introduces a new ap-
proach to the design of molecular Janus grains, their precision
synthesis, and diverse self-assembly behaviors in solution. It
may expand the scope of traditional amphiphilic molecules
and provide a platform to further study the self-assembly be-
haviors of shape-persistent MJPs.
Figure 4. Schematic illustrations of two packing models of vesicles. a) Inter-
digitated structure for AC60–C60 and b) bilayer structure for AC60–2C60. AFM
height profiles of vesicles formed by c) AC60–C60 and d) AC60–2C60 in THF.
Insets are AFM images of two individual vesicles.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by National Science Foundation
(DMR-0906898 and 1408872) and the Joint-Hope Education
Foundation. The authors acknowledge Dr. Panchao Yin and
Prof. Tianbo Liu for the help with light scattering experiments
and analyses; Yan Sun and Prof. Alamgir Karim for the assis-
tance in AFM experiments; and Jie Yu and Prof. Steven Chuang
for offering kind help in FT-IR tests and analyses. Dr. Chrys
Wesdemiotis and Kai Guo also thank the financial support
from NSF (CHE-1012636).
ure 4b. This is similar to reported fullerene amphiphiles.[13e] In
this argument, the geometrical arrangement for both cases be-
comes identical with the same cross-section areas, but differ-
ences in molecular packing topologies.
To verify the proposed packing models, atomic force micros-
copy (AFM) was used to measure the layer thickness of the col-
lapsed vesicles after evaporating the solvent. Only those vesi-
cles possessing smooth surface were selected to measure their
heights, as illustrated by the two typical height profiles shown
in Figures 4c and 4d. The average thickness of vesicles ob-
tained from ten independent measurements are 12.5ꢂ1.3 nm
for AC60–C60, and 16.2ꢂ1.5 nm for AC60–2C60, resulting in
a ratio of 0.77 between the two thickness values. The theoreti-
Keywords: fullerenes
assembly · vesicles
· Janus particles · micelles · self-
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Received: March 20, 2014
Published online on && &&, 0000
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&
Chem. Eur. J. 2014, 20, 1 – 7
www.chemeurj.org
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ꢀ 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
ÝÝ These are not the final page numbers!

Communication
COMMUNICATION
&
Janus Particles
Z. Lin, P. Lu, C.-H. Hsu, K. Yue, X.-H. Dong,
H. Liu, K. Guo, C. Wesdemiotis,
W.-B. Zhang,* X. Yu,* S. Z. D. Cheng*
&& – &&
Self-Assembly of Fullerene-Based
Janus Particles in Solution: Effects of
Molecular Architecture and Solvent
Symmetry breaking: Two fullerene-
based molecular Janus particles (AC60–
C60 and AC60–2C60) exhibit intriguing
self-assembly in solution. Interdigitated
and bilayered vesicles are formed in
THF from AC60–C60 and AC60–2C60, re-
spectively, while spheres and cylinders
are observed in N,N-dimethylformamide
(DMF)/water (see figure).
Self-Assembly of Molecular Janus Particles
Concepts of geometric and chemical symmetry breaking has
led to the design and synthesis of hydrophobic and
hydrophilic fullerene conjugates to form molecular Janus
particles, which can be described as “snowman-like” and
“mickey-mouse-like”. These fullerene-based Janus particles
exhibit intriguing self-assembly in solution. For more details,
see the Communication on page && ff. by S. Z. D. Cheng,
X. Yu, W.-B. Zhang et al.
Chem. Eur. J. 2014, 20, 1 – 7
www.chemeurj.org
7
ꢀ 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
&
&
These are not the final page numbers! ÞÞ