Self-assembled nanostructures
View Patent ↗Nanostructures are formed from alkylated derivatives of aromatic acids of the formula: wherein at least one of R 1 to R 6 represents a carboxylic acid group, a primary amide group, an ester group, an amidine group, or a salt thereof, at least one other of R 1 to R 6 is X—R c , and the remaining of R 1 to R 6 independently represent H or substituted or unsubstituted organic groups; X represents a linking group; and R c represents a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group.
1. A nanostructure comprising molecules non-covalently bound to each other of at least one compound selected from the group consisting of the following compounds:
R 1
R 2
R 3
—COOH
H
—COOH
—COOH
H
—COOH
H
—COOH
H
—COOH
R 5
—COOH
—COOH
and mixtures thereof.
2. A marking material composition comprising the nanostructure of claim 1 .
3. The marking material of claim 2 , wherein the marking material is an ink, a toner, a developer, a paint, or a coating.
4. An organogel composition comprising the nanostructure of claim 1 .
5. The nanostructure of claim 1 , wherein the compound is amphiphilic, comprising at least one hydrophilic or polar functional group with available heteroatoms for hydrogen-bonding with other molecules of the compound, and at least one non-polar or hydrophobic sterically bulky group.
6. The nanostructure of claim 1 , wherein the non-covalent bonding is predominately through hydrogen-bonding, aromatic pi-pi interactions, and van der Waals' forces.
7. The nanostructure of claim 1 , wherein the nanostructure is formed by homogeneously mixing the compound with a polar or nonpolar liquid under conditions to effect dissolution and self-assembly of the compound.
8. The nanostructure of claim 1 , comprising at least two different alkylated derivatives of aromatic acids.
9. The nanostructure of claim 1 , wherein the nanostructure is a one-dimensional structure in the form of a nanofibril or nanofiber.
10. The nanostructure of claim 1 , wherein the nanostructure is a two-dimensional structure.
11. The nanostructure of claim 1 , wherein the nanostructure is a three-dimensional structure in the form of a non-covalent gelator network or gel.
12. The nanostructure of claim 1 , wherein the nanostructure has, in at least one dimension, a size ranging from about 1 to about 500 nm, and has a largest dimension of up to about 5000 nm.