Back Cover: Effect of the Bulkiness of the End Functional Amide Groups on the Optical, Gelation, and Morphological Properties of Oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) π-Gelators (Chem. Asian J. 7/2014)

Abstract

Self-Assembly The size of the end functional group attached to an oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) (OPV)-based π-gelator plays an important role in the self-assembly pathways. In their Full Paper on page 1830 ff., Ayyappanpillai Ajayaghosh and co-workers report that an OPV amide with small end groups results in 1D H-type assembly in chloroform whereas 2D H-type assembly takes place in toluene. Both types of aggregates display a weak fluorescence (see Back Cover, left). On the other hand, an OPV amide with bulky end groups leads to random 2D aggregates in toluene with high fluorescence emission (see Back Cover, right). The study reveals that the complex self-assembly pathways and properties of π-gelators can be controlled by the proper selection of functional groups and solvents.