This grant from the Organic Dynamics Program supports the continuing work of Professor Richard G. Weiss at Georgetown University. The conversion of ordered assemblies of liquid-crystalline and related molecules to gels and chiral hollow cylinders will be studied. The structural and dynamic features of the component molecules will be correlated with the behavior of their aggregates in order to identify the salient properties responsible for the most efficient gelator molecules and the most stable hollow cylinders. Stabilization of unusual molecular assemblies will be attempted with metals and by polymerization. %%% The ability of some molecules to form well defined ordered assemblies in solution will be examined. The goal of the research is to identify the requirements for transforming single molecules which form ordered assemblies into devices which are capable of performing specific tasks on molecular and macromolecular scales. The results from this study should be useful in a wide range of applications.
