The rod-coil molecules with n-shaped rod building block, consisting of an anthracene unit and two biphenyl groups linked together with acetylenyl bonds at the 1,8-position of anthracene as a rigid rod segment, and the alkyl or alkyloxy chains with various length (i.e., methoxy-(1), octyl-(2), hexadecyl-(3)) at the 10-position of anthracene and poly(ethylene oxide) with the number of repeating units of 7 connected with biphenyl as coil segments were synthesized. The molecular structures were characterized by 1 H NMR and MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopy. The self-assembling behavior of new type of molecules 1-3 was investigated by means of DSC, POM, and SAXS at the bulk state. These molecules with a n-shaped rod building block segment self-assemble into supramolecular structures through the com-bination of p-p stacking of rigid rod building blocks and microphase separation of the rod and coil blocks. SAXS studies reveal that molecules 1 and 2 show hexagonal columnar and rectangular columnar structures in the liquid crystalline phase, respectively; meanwhile, molecules 1-3 self-organize into lamellar structures in the crystalline state. In addition, self-assembling studies of molecules 1-3 by DLS and TEM indicated that these molecules self-assemble into elongated nanofibers in aqueous medium.

We report the synthesis and self-assembly behavior of coil-rod-coil molecules. These molecules each consist of two biphenyl groups and an anthracene unit connected with ethynyl bonds at the 1,8-position of anthracene as a rod segment, with methoxy or octyl groups at the 10-position of anthracene, and poly(ethylene oxide) with degrees of polymerization of 12 and 17 linked to the biphenyls as coil segments. Structural investigation of these molecules by means of differential scanning calorimetry, polarized optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction in the bulk state reveals that these molecules self-assemble into lamellar structures in the solid state, while, in the liquid-crystalline phase, they self-organize into various columnar assemblies depending on the volume fraction of coil segments.