Chemical energy assisted self-assembling of a porphyrin-substituted benzoic acid in complex environments

• Published in: Chemical science (Cambridge) Vol. 14; no. 12; pp. 3363 - 3369
• Main Authors: Ma, Bingxu, Pang, Bowen, Zeng, Wang, Fu, Huimin, Jiang, Yi, Yao, Shenglin, Yang, Yida, Zhu, Kaisheng, Zhang, Wei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Royal Society of Chemistry 22.03.2023; The Royal Society of Chemistry
• Subjects: Benzoic acid; Chemical energy; Chemical fuels; Chemistry; Porphyrins; Selectivity; Self-assembly
• ISSN: 2041-6520; 2041-6539
• DOI: 10.1039/d2sc06621a

Energy input plays a crucial role in the assembling of matter. In our present study, we utilize EDC as a chemical fuel to drive the molecular assembling of POR-COOH . POR-COOH will react with EDC to generate the intermediate POR-COOEDC first, which was well-solvated by solvent molecules. During the subsequent hydrolysis process, EDU and oversaturated POR-COOH molecules at high energy states will be formed and thus allowed the self-assembling of POR-COOH into 2D nanosheets. This chemical energy assisted assembling process could be performed not only under mild conditions with high spatial accuracy but also with high selectivity in complex environments. We succeeded in utilizing chemical energy to drive a self-assembling process in a controlled manner, featuring not only the ability to be performed under mild, solvent-free conditions but also high spatial accuracy and selectivity.