Lamellar organic thin films through self-assembly and molecular recognition.

Molecular clips possessing U-shaped cavities have been functionalized on their convex side with long aliphatic tails. These molecules form dimers which self-assemble into malleable lamellar thin films. Upon addition of a guest (methyl 3,5-dihydroxybenzoate), a 1:1 host-guest complex is formed, which prohibits clip dimerization. As a result, the lamellar structure of the material is lost. Complexation of 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid in the clip results in host-guest complexes which dimerize by hydrogen bonding interactions between the carboxylic acid functions of the bound guests. This dimerization restores the lamellar type architecture of the material.