Seminars and Special Events

Chemistry/IBNAM/IIN Special Seminar

Programmed Self-Assembly for Functional Nanostructures (printable announcement)

Takuzo Aida
JST ERATO-SORST AIDA NANOSPACE PROJECT
School of Engineering
The University of Tokyo

Friday, October 27, 2006
4pm*
Tech LR3**

ABSTRACT (click here for associated images)
Functional soft materials have attracted great attention. We have developed a variety of new materials based on inorganic frameworks, organic self–assembly, and biological macromolecules. Examples include dendritic macromolecules for bioinspired applications [1], mesoporous silicates for spatial isolation and alignment of functional molecules [2], discrete inorganic rings containing functional organic modules [3], oligopeptide–based helical spaces for stereochemical recognition of helices [4], semi-biological and artificial robotics [5], soft materials with carbon nanotubes [6], metalloporphyrin–based nanospaces for trapping of fullerenes [7], and self–assembled graphitic nanotubes [8]. Some of those materials show very unique properties. In the present paper, we highlight novel electronic soft materials based on carbon nanotubes and graphitic nanotubes.

Results and Discussion
We recently found that grinding of single-walled carbon nanotubes in imidazolium ion-based ionic liquids (6a) gives physical gels (bucky gels), which serve as powerful capacitors applicable to the fabrication of fully plastic actuators by layer-by-layer casting (6b). Use of polymerizable ionic liquids for grinding single-walled carbon nanotubes, followed by free radical polymerization, resulted in the formation of highly reinforced conductive polymers (6c). We also found that an amphiphilic hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene (HBC) self-assembles to give novel graphitic nanotubes that are conductive upon oxidation (8a). Quite interestingly, addition of an ADMET catalyst to a homogeneous solution of an amphiphilic HBC with olefinic functionalities resulted in spontaneous self-assembly to give surface-polymerized graphitic nanotubes with an enhanced thermal stability (8b). Use of a chiral amphiphilic hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene with stereogenic centers resulted in the formation of graphitic nanotubes with one-handed helical chirality (8c) that are potentially useful for realizing nanoscale solenoids. When a macroscopic glass hook was dipped in/out repeatedly in a suspension of these chiral graphitic nanotubes, a macroscopic fiber formed, in which the nanotubes are highly aligned unidirectionally along the fiber axis (8d). In addition to these results, we also report fabrication and properties of photo/redox-crosslinkable graphitic nanotubes for lithographic patterning, photoconductive nanotubes, and graphitic nanocapsules using strategically designed amphiphilic HBCs.

Acknowledgments
I thank Dr. Takanori Fukushima (Group Leader), Wusong Jin, Yohei Yamamoto, Hiroaki Okabe, Jin Motoyanagi, and Akiko Kosaka (ERATO-SORST) for their enthusiastic research activities.

Selected Publications
[1] (a) Nature 1997, 388, 454. (b) Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2001, 40, 3803. (c) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2001, 123, 5608. (d) Chem. Eur. J. 2002, 8, 2667. (e) Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2003, 42, 4060. (f) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 14690. (g) Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. (Minireview), 2004, 43, 150. (h) Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2004, 43, 2943. (i) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 12084. (j) Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2004, 43, 6350. (k) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 179. (l) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 5484. (m) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 7700. (n) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 10020. (o) Nature Mater. 2005, 4, 546. (p) Nano Lett. 2005, 5, 2426. (q) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 10527.
[2] (a) Science 1999, 285, 2113. (b) Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2001, 40, 3803. (c) Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2002, 41, 3414. (d) Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2003, 42, 2154. (e) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 126, 988. (f) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 126, 9013.
[3] Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2004, 43, 6350 (Front Cover).
[4] (a) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 716. (b) Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2005, 44, 419.
[5] (a) Nature, 2003, 423, 628. (b) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 5612. (c) Chem. Rev. 2005, 105, 1377. (d) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 3764. (e) Nature 2006, 440, 512. (f) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, in press.
[6] (a) Science 2003, 300, 2072. (b) Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2005, 44, 2410. (c) Small 2006, 2, 554.
[7] (a) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 13934. (b) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 6570. (c) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 13086. (d) Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2006, 45, 3542. (e) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 10690.
[8] (a) Science 2004, 304, 1481. (b) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 10020. (c) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2005, 102, 10801. (d) Adv. Mater. 2006, 18, 1297 (Front Cover). (e) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 4220.

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*Refreshments will be served at 3:30pm
**Technological Institute, Room LR3, 2145 Sheridan Rd, Evanston

 

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