From achiral molecular components to chiral supermolecules and supercoil self-assembly

The self-assembly in chloroform of a pair of achiral molecular components, 5-(4-dodecyloxybenzylidene)-(1H,3H)-2,4,6-pyrimidinetrione (1) and 4-amino- 2,6-didodecylamino-1,3,5-triazine (2) was found to generate a mesoscopic su percoil structure some 10 mu m in length and about 300 nm in diameter. The self-assembly process took over 1200 h to reach equilibrium in chloroform a t room temperature. In this system of positive cooperativity, chiral superm olecules based on a network of hydrogen bonds are initially generated from 1 and 2. Further assembly of such chiral supermolecules results in the form ation of the observed mesoscopic supercoil structure. Owing to the lack of chirality in 1 and 2, both left- and right-handed supercoils are observed.