Hybrid fibrillar materials from polymers and self-assembled systems – MATISSE

preparation of nanocables by physical processes only with basic constituents. Physical methods are thermoreversible gelation, heteregeneous nucleation

encapsulation of self-assembled systems within polymer fibrils

to be extended to other systems

A. KHAN, T.T.T. NGUYEN, L. DOBIRCAU, M. SCHMUTZ, PH. MESINI, J.M. GUENET An investigation into the interactions involved in the formation of nanotubes from organogelators Langmuir 2013, 29, 16127

The MATISSE project will focus on the elaboration of complex hybrid architectures via physical processes such as thermoreversible gelation, crystallization, heterogeneous nucleation, and the like.. The resulting materials will possess a fibrillar structure, and accordingly designated as «nano-cables» hereafter. In all cases, these nanocables will be nanocomposites involving covalent polymers and self-assembled systems. In the course of this project, it is intended to prepare two types of nano-cables: i) nanocables obtained by encapsulating functional self-assembled filaments within polymer fibrils and ii) nanocables prepared by sheathing polymer nanofibrils within nanotubules generated from specially designed self-assembling molecule. In the former case, the polymer sheathes the functional self-assembled filaments whereas in the latter case the self-assembling system sheathes a neutral, conducting or semi-conducting polymer wire. In both cases, the resulting materials will be fibrillar gels consisting of a randomly-dispersed array of nano-cables. This project will focus on the synthesis of the appropriate self-assembling molecules and the elaboration of the materials, but also on the determination of their morphology and molecular structure together with their functional properties. Functionality of the nano-cables will stem either from the core filament (antiferromagnetic properties, semi-conducting or conducting properties) or from the surrounding sheath (catalytic activity). The originality of the project lies in the bottom-up type strategy which will be chiefly based on physical processes and structure growth control. This strategy of reaching such a high level of nanoscale organization is clearly at variance with conventional approaches based on sophisticated chemical engineering. This challenging project is highly pluridisciplinar as it relies on the complementary expertise of chemists, physical chemists and physicists. It involves participants of three laboratories enjoying international recognition in their respective research fields: i) Institut Charles Sadron (Strasbourg) polymers, physical gels and self-assembling systems, ii) Laboratoire Charles Coulomb (L2C) in Montpellier, spectroscopic investigations, and iii) Laboratoire de Structure et Propriété d’Architectures Moléculaires (SPrAM) in Grenoble, devices and electronic nano-materials.