West, N.G.; Griffin, R.; Buchanan, C.; Molino, A.; Schenk, A.K.; Qi, D.; Pan, J.; Puskar, L.; Garvey, C.J.; Wilson, D.J.D.; Pakes, C.I.; Mechler, A.: Metal cross linking of helical oligoamide nanorods serves as platform for hierarchical nanofibers. MRS Bulletin 50 (2025), p. 675–688
10.1557/s43577-025-00874-2
Open Accesn Version
Abstract:
Helical β-oligoamides serve as versatile molecular building blocks with the unique ability to maintain stable helical fold and be functionalized by sequence modifications without affecting the folding ability. Fibrous head-to-tail self-assembly of these building blocks provides a platform to develop complex nanomaterials. In this study, the metallosupramolecular structure formed by Cu(II) coordination of the Ac-β3Aβ3Vβ3S-αH-β3Aβ3Vβ3A (1 H) oligoamide was characterized with spectroscopic, microscopic, and computational methods. Our findings demonstrate that the hybrid sequence leads to a complex helical structure combining a 13-helix on a 14-helix template, stabilized by bifurcated hydrogen bonds. We observe that the 1 H fibers form in solution, and that copper coordination increases the size of the colloidal structures. When deposited, a homogeneous two-dimensional surface coating was produced, and based on our measurements we are able to propose a structure for the supramolecular framework. These results underline the utility of metallosupramolecular frameworks in bottom-up nanofabrication and nanostructured surface coatings.