Revesible Switching between Nematic Gel and Isotriopic Fluid Triggered by External Stimuli in Aqueous Self-Assembly of Supramolecular Nanocylinders

We have demonstrated that the cylindrical micelles self-assembled from coil-rod-coil molecules can be interconnected by addition of a small amount of rod-coil-rod molecule as a bridging agent. Subsequently, these dynamic interconnections lead to stiff bundles composed of cylindrical micelles that are responsible for the formation of a reversible nematic gel. The results described here represent a significant example that dynamic bridging of supramolecular cylinders in aqueous solution can provide a useful strategy to construct one-dimensional nematic structure with three dimensional elastic properties.