Self-assembling macrocyclic pillar[5]arene into toroidal, Möbius-strip-like nanoring and circularly polarized luminescence
Jie Lu, Yuan Wang, Jingjun Jin, Minghua Liu
Abstract
The unique spatial structure of macrocyclic molecules presents significant challenges in achieving precise chirality control across multiple hierarchical assembly levels, particularly in the fabrication of topologically chiral nanostructures. In this study, we functionalized pillar[5]arene with amphiphilic glutamide units and explored their self-assembly behavior, successfully obtaining chiral nanotoroids and Möbius-strip-like nanostructures. Through a combination of spectroscopic analysis, electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, we elucidated the underlying mechanism driving molecular aggregation to the formation of toroidal topologies with well-defined chirality. These nanostructures exhibit blue circularly polarized luminescence (CPL). Notably, when achiral luminophores such as TPPS or CBS are adsorbed onto the toroidal nanostructures, they are induced to emit red or blue CPL, respectively, while the other vesicular or spherical assemblies could not. This work bridges the gap between molecule-level macrocycle chirality and nanoscale topological chirality, offering new possibilities for the design of advanced chiroptical materials.