Templating the self-assembly of pristine carbon nanostructures in water

The low solubility of carbon nanostructures (CNs) in water and the need of ordered architectures at the nanoscale level are two major challenges for materials chemistry. Here we report that a novel amino acid based low-molecular-weight gelator (LMWG) can be used to effectively disperse pristine CNs in water and to drive their ordered self-assembly into supramolecular hydrogels. A non-covalent mechanochemical approach has been used, so the π-extended system of the CNs remains intact. Optical spectroscopy and electron microscopy confirmed the effective dispersion of the CNs in water. Electron microscopy of the hydrogels showed the formation of an ordered, LMWG-assisted, self-assembled architecture. Moreover, the very same strategy allows the solubilization and self-assembly in water of a variety of hydrophobic molecules.MIUR (PRIN project 2010NRREPL), University of Padova (PRAT C91J11003560001, PRAT CPDA119117, and Progetto Strategico HELIOS STPD08RCX5), Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación-FEDER (grant CTQ2010-17436), and Gobierno de Aragón-FSE (group E40) are acknowledged for financial support.Peer Reviewe