Transformation of Isotropic Fluid to Nematic Gel Triggered by Dynamic Bridging of Supramolecular Nanocylinders

We have synthesized an amphiphilic triblock coil−rod−coil molecule consisting of a rigid aromatic building block and poly(ethylene oxide). The coil−rod−coil molecule was observed to assemble into a cylindrical micelle structure in aqueous solution. Notably, addition of a small amount of a rod−coil−rod molecule into the cylindrical micellar solution can induce the anisotropic gelation due to dynamic interconnection of adjacent cylindrical micelles via hydrophobic and π−π interactions. Depending on the concentration of the rod−coil−rod molecule, the nematic gel can be reversibly switched into an isotropic solution of cylindrical micelles.