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Controlling the Two-Dimensional Self-Assembly of Functionalized Porphyrins via Adenine-Thymine Quartet Formation

Blunt, MO; Hu, Y; Toft, CW; Slater, AG; Lewis, W; Champness, NR; (2018) Controlling the Two-Dimensional Self-Assembly of Functionalized Porphyrins via Adenine-Thymine Quartet Formation. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C , 122 (45) pp. 26070-26079. 10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b08888. Green open access

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Abstract

The development of supramolecular synthons capable of driving hierarchical two-dimensional self-assembly is an important step towards the growth of complex and functional molecular surfaces. In this work the formation of nucleobase quartets consisting of adenine and thymine groups was used to control the 2D self-assembly of porphyrins. Tetra-(phenylthymine) zinc porphyrin (Zn-tetra-TP) and tetra-(phenyladenine) porphyrin (tetra-AP) were synthesised and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments performed to visualize their self-assembly at the liquid-solid interface between an organic solvent and a graphite surface. Mono-component solutions of both Zn-tetra-TP and tetra-AP form stable 2D structures with either thymine-thymine or adenine-adenine hydrogen bonding. Structural models based on STM data were validated using molecular mechanics (MM) simulations. In contrast, bi-component mixtures showed the formation of a structure with p4 symmetry consisting of alternating Zn-tetra-TP and tetra-AP molecules in a chessboard type pattern. The relative positions of the porphyrin components were identified from STM images via contrast changes associated with the zinc atom present in Zn-tetra-TP. MM simulations suggest that hydrogen bonding interactions within these structures are based on the formation of adenine-thymine (ATAT) quartets with Watson-Crick base pairing between adenine and thymine groups.

Type: Article
Title: Controlling the Two-Dimensional Self-Assembly of Functionalized Porphyrins via Adenine-Thymine Quartet Formation
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b08888
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b08888
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Chemistry
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10059346
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