A Discrete Platinum(II) Amphiphile: Construction, Characterization, and Controllable Self-Assembly in Different Solvents.

"Coordination-driven self-assembly" offers us an efficient method to fabricate 3D metallacages and 2D metallacycles with controllable shape and size via simple building blocks. Herein, a new discrete platinum(II) amphiphile (AOM), which contains hydrophilic tris(ethylene oxide) chains and a hydrophobic porphyrin unit, was constructed successfully by using "coordination-driven self-assembly". From various characterization methods, such as UV-vis spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and small-angle X-ray scattering, we found that AOM can self-assemble into vesicles, curved vesicles with open ends, and at last stable bilayer nanotubes in aqueous solution at room temperature and flexible cross-linked structures at about 60 °C. In contrast, AOM formed rigid bilayer nanosheets of micrometers in width and millimeters in length in n-hexane. We hope this investigation will pave the way for the fabrication of controllable soft materials.