Applied Crystallography

Biography

Biography: Myobin Jeon

Abstract

Systematic studies of  the mechanism of the surfactant-controlled self-assembly of organic molecules are challenging in the field of crystal engineering and nanotechnology. Here, we discuss the shape evolution of three-dimensional molecular architectures (foldectures) formed from the self-assembly of a b-peptide foldamer. The evolution of the shape from a square plate to a square pyramid was observed, and the molecular packing structure was analyzed by diffraction experiments. This shape evolution arises from the passivation of the surfactants on the crystal facets and synergistic effect of their counterions. Moreover, we performed surface-energy calculations through a molecular dynamics simulation to demonstrate the roles of additives in the crystal growth mechanism. These findings would bolster our understanding of the interactions between surfactants and the interfaces of organic molecules and thus provide deeper insight into the design of functional organic materials.