Uronium sulfonate module as a topological director for a polar layer arrangement

Uronium and sulfonate ions are demonstrated to self-assemble into two-dimen sional hydrogen-bonded polar sheets. The ancillary benzene rings attached t o the sulfonate ions are aligned on one side of the sheets. The whole direc tional and topological information for recognition and two-dimensional orga nisation is implicated for the supramolecular unit with general formula [(N H2)(2)COH](+)[RSO3](-). Although the uronium and the sulfonate moieties are mismatched in terms of symmetry and numbers of hydrogen bonding atoms, the aggregation of ionic and non-polar regions leads to the formation of a lam ellar structure. The van der Waals interactions intercalating the hydrogen- bonded sheets into lamellae dictate cancellation of the net dipole moment i n the intralamellar space.