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A multi-to-one supramolecular photocatalyst is fabricated by aqueous electrostatic self-assembly of multiple graphene quantum dot (GQD) antennas onto a single-Pt-site porphyrin unimolecular micelle (PtTHPD-UM) catalytic center. Light energy is transferred from GQDs to PtTHPD-UM to catalyze water splitting into hydrogen up to 57 190 μmol g(Pt)−1 h−1 under visible light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This communication describes polymer vesicles self-assembled from hyperbranched polymers (branched polymersomes (BPs)) as scaffolds, conceptually mimicking the natural light-harvesting system in aqueous solution. The system is constructed with hydrophobic 4-chloro-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole (NBD-Cl) as donors encapsulated in the hydrophobic hyperbranched cores of the vesicles and the hydrophilic Rhodamine B (RB) as acceptors incorporated on the surface of the vesicles through the cyclodextrin (CD)/RB host-guest interactions, through which the donors and acceptors are spatially separated to effectively avoid the self-quenching between donors. This vesicular light harvesting system has presented good energy transfer efficiency of about 80% in water, and can be used as the ink to write multiclolor letters. In addition, due to the giant dimension of BPs, the real-time fluorescent images of the vesicles under an optical microscope can be observed to prove the light-harvesting process. It is supposed that such a vesicular light-harvesting antenna can be used to construct artificial photosynthesis systems in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dandelion-like supramolecular polymer (DSP) with a 'sphere-star-parachute' topological structure consisting of a spherical hyperbranched core and many parachute-like arms is constructed by the non-covalent host-guest coupling between a cyclodextrin-endcapped hyperbranched multi-arm copolymer (host) and many functionalized adamantanes with each having three alkyl chain arms (guests). The obtained DSPs can further self-assemble into nanotubes in water in a hierarchical way from vesicles to nanotubes through sequential vesicle aggregation and fusion steps. The nanotubes have a bilayer structure consisting of multiple 'hydrophobic-hyperbranched-hydrophilic' layers. Such a structure is very useful for constructing a chlorosome-like artificial aqueous light-harvesting system, as demonstrated here, via the incorporation of hydrophobic 4-(2-hydroxyethylamino)-7-nitro-2,1,3-benzoxadiazole as donors inside the hyperbranched cores of the nanotubes and the hydrophilic Rhodamine B as the acceptors immobilized on the nanotube surfaces. This as-prepared nanotube light harvesting system demonstrates unexpectedly high energy transfer efficiency (above 90%) in water. This extends supramolecular polymers with more complex topological structure, special self-assembly behavior, and new functionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel hybrid light-harvesting antenna with a srikaya-like structure of multi-graphene quantum dots (GQDs) as donors and one porphyrin unimolecular micelle as the acceptor was constructed through electrostatic self-assembly. The constructed antenna showed a high energy transfer efficiency of up to 93.6% and an antenna effect of 7.3 in an aqueous solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amicelle-like hybrid natural-artificial light-harvesting nanosystem was prepared through protein-framed electrostatic self-assembly of phycocyanin and a four-armed porphyrin star polymer. The nanosystem has a special structure of pomegranate-like unimolecular micelle aggregate with one phycocyanin acceptor in the center and multiple porphyrin donors in the shell. It can inhibit donor self-quenching effectively and display efficient transfer of excitation energy (about 80.1%) in water. Furthermore, the number of donors contributing to a single acceptor could reach as high as about 179 in this nanosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]