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Quantification of energy of activation to supramolecular nanofibre formation reveals enthalpic and entropic effects and morphological consequence

Samperi, Mario; Perez-Garcia, Lluisa; Amabilino, David B.

Quantification of energy of activation to supramolecular nanofibre formation reveals enthalpic and entropic effects and morphological consequence Thumbnail


Authors

Mario Samperi

Lluisa Perez-Garcia

David B. Amabilino



Abstract

We show a self-assembly process leading to fibres from a system that starts far from equilibrium because of fast solvent – anti-solvent mixing and analyse the activation energies associated with the aggregation. It is in some ways reminiscent of diverse natural fibrous materials that have kinetic behaviour dominated by a rate limiting induction period followed by rapid growth. A full thermodynamic rationale for these systems and related synthetic ones is required for a full understanding of the driving force of their non-equilibrium self-assembly. Here we determine quantitatively the enthalpy and entropy of activation for the processes leading to the growth of fibres of this type, that contrasts with analysis of other systems where final energetic states are analysed. A dramatic effect is revealed whereby comparatively small changes in temperature or solvent composition (the ratio of water to ethanol) lead to alterations in the relative importance of enthalpy and entropy of activation and massive changes in the speed of fibre formation. The characteristics of the kinetic model adopted show a correlation with the fibre morphology of the self-assembled materials, which are isostructural according to diffraction experiments: The control of growth can lead to fibres only two bilayers thick. The crossover in behaviour is characteristic of the solvent mixture and the thermodynamic analysis points to the origins of this effect where different assembly routes are viable under only marginally different conditions.

Citation

Samperi, M., Perez-Garcia, L., & Amabilino, D. B. (2019). Quantification of energy of activation to supramolecular nanofibre formation reveals enthalpic and entropic effects and morphological consequence. Chemical Science, 2019(44), 10256-10266. https://doi.org/10.1039/c9sc03280k

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Sep 16, 2019
Online Publication Date Sep 16, 2019
Publication Date Nov 28, 2019
Deposit Date Sep 17, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Chemical Science
Print ISSN 2041-6520
Electronic ISSN 2041-6539
Publisher Royal Society of Chemistry
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 2019
Issue 44
Pages 10256-10266
DOI https://doi.org/10.1039/c9sc03280k
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2625566
Publisher URL https://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2019/SC/C9SC03280K#!divAbstract

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