Two-component self-assemblies: investigation of a synergy between bis-urea stickers

International audienceIt is of interest to develop two-component systems for added flexibility in the design of supramolecular polymers, nanofibers or organogels. Bis-ureas are known to self-assemble by hydrogen bonding into long supramolecular objects. We show here that mixing aromatic bis-ureas with slightly different structures can yield surprisingly large synergistic effects. A strong increase in viscosity is observed when a bis-urea with the sterically demanding 2,4,6-trimethylbenzene spacer is combined with a bis-urea bearing no methyl group in position 2 of the aromatic spacer (i.e. 4-methylbenzene or 4,6-dimethylbenzene). This effect is the consequence of a change in supramolecular assembly triggered by the composition of the mixture. The mixture of complementary bis-ureas forms rod-like objects that are more stable by about 1 kJ/mol, and that are thicker than the rod-like objects formed by both parent systems