Filling Helical Nanotubes with C60

摘要

We report herein the complexation of a string of buckminsterfullerenes in chloroform by our recently discovered self-assembled, helical nanotubes. The poorly soluble C60 molecules are solubilized by the nanotubes and they also experience the helicity of the environment, as demonstrated by induced circular dichroism (ICD). Previously reported C60 receptors - mostly aza-crown ethers, calixarenes, and porphyrins - require lengthy syntheses and only bind isolated fullerenes. Our polymeric, dynamic receptor is prepared in one step and represents an entirely new class of C60-complexing structures; it also allows the hitherto unknown formation of a one-dimensional C60 array.