Chirality and chiral functional composites of bicontinuous cubic nanostructured cubosomes

Abstract

Molecular self-assembly is the most important strategy for the development of chiral aggregates and chiral functional materials. In this study, we rationally designed and synthesized chiral fluorescent heteroclusters that were self-assembled into microscale cubosomes with a three-dimensional (3D) bicontinuous cubic phase nanostructure. The cubosomes exhibited chirality, indicating that chirality is transferred from the molecules to the 3D nanostructure. Therefore, we confirmed the formation of a chiral bicontinuous cubic phase nanostructure for the first time. We also showed that this chirality originates from the continuous change in the saddle-splay distortion of the molecules within the curved bilayer. At the same time, transparent films of chiral composites were prepared by mixing the chiral cubosomes with an epoxy resin and then curing the mixture. Therefore, we demonstrated an effective method for preparing chiral composites.