Macromolecules, Vol.45, No.17, 7157-7162, 2012
Covalent Capture of Self-Assembled Rosette Nanotubes
Rosette nanotubes (RNTs) are self-assembled tubular architectures which have extensive chemical and physical tuning capabilities, owing to their ease of surface functionalization and flexible inner channel design. To marry these tunable features of the RNTs with the enhanced stability of a covalent polymer, here we demonstrate the covalent capture of the RNT supramolecular structure by polymerizing alkyldiamine functional groups expressed on their outer periphery in the presence of adipoyl chloride (nylon-6,6 process). The resulting polymeric materials were characterized using proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and differential scanning calorimetry. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy revealed the formation of fibers and films composed of RNTs.