Trimeric Supra-Amphiphile with Diverse Lamellar Self-Assemblies

A new kind of trimeric supra-amphiphile [M-4-M-4-M][DBS] 3 that exhibits diverse self-assembly behaviours was fabricated through ion exchange between linear tricationic imidazolium chloride ([M-4-M-4-M]Cl 3 ) and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS). Micelles are spontaneously transformed into unilamellar vesicles at a quite low concentration (1.5 mM), and then evolved to multilamellar vesicles and planar bilayers successively with a further increase in the concentration of [M-4-M-4-M][DBS] 3 in the absence of any additives. The presence of π-π stacking interactions has been proved to promote the lamellar arrangement of the supra-amphiphile. With increasing temperatures, [M-4-M-4-M][DBS] 3 exhibits interesting “clouding” and phase separation in the L a phase, behaving like common nonionic surfactants. Chain-like aggregates are formed in the bottom phase, which are probably induced by the hierarchical assembly of vesicles. This work provides useful insights into the role of weak interactions in the fabrication and self-assembly of oligomeric supra-amphiphiles, and paves a way to enrich the structures and functions of self-assemblies.