Hierarchical Self-Assembly of Surfactant-Encapsulated and Organically Grafted Polyoxometalate Complexes

A series of surfactant-encapsulated and organically grafted polyoxometalates (SEOPs) were prepared through a co-precipitation procedure. Through a rational selection of the molecular components in the structure of the complex, SEOP complexes self-assemble into ordered aggregates with two different hierarchical self-assembled structures in an organic solvent mixture of dichloromethane and methanol in different volume ratios. FTIR, H-1 NMR, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to characterize the self-assembly process and the involved driving forces. In a weakly polar solvent, SEOPs aggregated into fibers with a lamellar structure. When the solvent polarity was increased, SEOPs formed ribbonlike aggregates with a tetragonal structure. The change of the hierarchical self-assembled structure was deduced in regard to the arrangement of alkyl chains, electrostatic interactions, and hydrogen bonding between the pyridyl groups and terminal oxygen atoms of the polyoxometalates. The ribbonlike aggregates exhibit birefringence due to the ordered arrangement of SEOPs in the microstructure.