Highly ordered arrangement of meso-tetrakis(4-aminophenyl)porphyrin in self-assembled nanoaggregates via hydrogen bonding

meso-Tetrakis(4-aminophenyl)porphyrin (TAPP) can self-assemble into nanostructures with different morphologies by a phase-transfer method. The morphologies (nanospheres, nanorods and nanothorns) of porphyrin nanoaggregates could be easily tuned just by changing the concentration of porphyrin in a proper solvent at room temperature. HRTEM images revealed the formation of highly ordered supramolecular arrays of TAPP, i.e., superlattice of TAPP molecules in nanoaggregates, which agreed well with the size of one molecule of TAPP. UV-vis absorption spectra showed an obvious red shift of the Soret band of TAPP, indicating the formation of J-aggregates of TAPP in nanoaggregates. (C) 2014 Qing-Yun Liu and Yan-Sheng Yin. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.