Micellen als chemische Nano‐Laboratorien

Loaded nanomicellar structures in water with potentional application in cosmetics such as sun protection and care of sunburn were developed on establishing chemical experiments for teaching without requiring hazardous chemicals, however, concerning an actual field of research. Such micellar systems in water may form „nano laboratories“, for example for the application of lipophilic substances in water. This is demonstrated for fluorescent dyes and lipophilic pH indicators. Finally, supramolecular functional units were stabilized in such structures inducing their operation by interaction. Such micelles may be variously applied in chemical didactics beginning from tests for demonstration, and moreover, for basic and advanced chemical education of students.     

Fuel‐Driven Transient Crystallization of a Cucurbit[8]uril‐Based Host–Guest Complex

Transient self‐assembling systems often suffer from accumulation of chemical wastes that interfere with the formation of pristine self‐assembled products in subsequent cycles. Herein, we report the transient crystallization of a cucurbit[8]uril‐based host‐guest complex, preventing the accumulation of chemical wastes. Base‐catalyzed thermal decarboxylation of trichloroacetic acid that chemically fuels the crystallization process dissolves the crystals, and produces volatile chemical wastes that are spontaneously removed from the solution. With such self‐clearance process, no significant damping in the formation of the crystals was observed. The morphology and structural integrity of the crystals was also maintained in subsequent cycles. The concept may be further extended to obtain other temporally functional materials, quasicrystals, etc., based on stimuli‐responsive guest molecules.