Chirality control for in situ preparation of gold nanoparticle superstructures directed by a coordinatable organogelator

Imposing chirality into nanoscale superstructures is a major step forward toward systematic understanding and utilization of nanomaterials. In an attempt to achieve tunable chirality during in situ preparation of hybrid nanomaterials, we here report a novel unimolecular strategy of employing a coordinatable organogelator for the realization of chirality control in the formation of gold nanoparticle superstructures. The work takes advantage of thermally reversible sol-gel transition of the chiral dispersion as template, which causes different micelle properties that can influence the coordination ability between the organogelator and Au(III) ions. Followed by a reduction reaction, gold nanoparticle superstructures with P-helicity were prepared from the sol form of the template through a coordination-induced chiral inversion, whereas those with M-helicity were obtained from the gel form with chiral holding. Such superstructures are solvent-stable and the chirality difference between them could be observed in many solvent environments.