Macroscopic self-assembly of hyperbranched polyesters

We utilized melt polycondensation of 2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl) propionic acid (bis-MPA) and 2-ethyl-2-hydroxymethyl-1,3-propanediol (TMP) to synthesize a hyperbranched polyester core and subsequent substitution by reaction of terminal hydroxyl with benzoyl chloride in DMF in the presence of TEA as the acceptors of HCl. It has been found that well-defined macroscopic structures can be formed via hydrogen bonding and π–π stacking interactions. Meanwhile, the molecular structures, the nature of the solvent, the molecular concentration, the volatilizing ratio of solvent, and self-assembly temperature also affected the self-assembly structures. The type of self-assembly method offers a synthetic route to well-defined one-dimensional organic macrostructures.