Supramolecular polymerization of spherical micelles triggered by donor-acceptor interactions

We synthesized rigid-flexible amphiphilic molecules consisting of an aromatic block based on a pyrene dimer and a hydrophilic oligoether dendron. The molecules self-assemble into spherical micelles with a diameter of ∼12 nm in an aqueous solution. Notably, these spherical objects could be polymerized through charge transfer interaction by addition of an electron acceptor molecule, 2,4,5,7-tetranitrofluorenone (TNF), to yield linear supramolecular polymers with controlled lengths from several tens to a few micrometers depending on the TNF content.