posted on 2017-05-19, 15:22authored byTimur Shaykhutdinov, Simona D. Pop, Andreas Furchner, Karsten Hinrichs
We
report on the experimental characterization of anisotropic supramolecular
assemblies by infrared (IR) nanopolarimetry. The presented IR absorption
anisotropy imaging method simultaneously provides nanoscale-resolved
insights into internal composition, intermolecular interactions, and
supramolecular orientation in a label-free and noninvasive fashion.
Our study of porphyrin aggregates demonstrates that their morphology
can be correlated with stable J-type and metastable H-type stacking-induced
anisotropic organization, revealing different oriented attachment
growth mechanisms supported by theory. This analysis establishes the
broad applicability of IR nanopolarimetric studies to supramolecular
polymerization and biomolecular assemblies, opening up new routes
in polymer science and macromolecular research.