Atomistic Simulations of 2D Bicomponent Self-Assembly: From Molecular Recognition to Self-Healing

作者:Palma Carlos Andres; Samori Paolo*; Cecchini Marco
来源:Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2010, 132(50): 17880-17885.
DOI:10.1021/ja107882e

摘要

Supramolecular two-dimensional engineering epitomizes the design of complex molecular architectures through recognition events in multicomponent self-assembly. Despite being the subject of in-depth experimental studies, such articulated phenomena have not been yet elucidated in time and space with atomic precision. Here we use atomistic molecular dynamics to simulate the recognition of complementary hydrogen-bonding modules forming 2D porous networks on graphite. We describe the transition path from the melt to the crystalline hexagonal phase and show that self-assembly proceeds through a series of intermediate states featuring a plethora of polygonal types. Finally, we design a novel bicomponent system possessing kinetically improved self-healing ability in silico, thus demonstrating that a priori engineering of 2D self-assembly is possible.

  • 出版日期2010-12-22