Supramolecular structural design in a system based on nanocluster Mo138 and a cationic surfactant: The influence of components ratio and pH of the solution

•Interactions of nanocluster Mo138 and cationic surfactant were studied in solution.•The new supramolecular globular structure was produced by self-assemble method.•The model of controlled hydrophobization of POM surface was created.•The morphology of the supramolecular globular structure was studied by AFM and SEM.•The extraction of globular structures from water to organic solvents was studied.

The design of supramolecular compounds is one of the key modern chemical trends. Based on the study of self-organising processes, supramolecular chemistry allows the creation of complex nanoclustered and hierarchical structures by the self-assembly method. We have investigated a system consisting of nanoclustered polyoxomolybdate Mo138 with a toroid structure and cationic surfactant n-tridecylpyridinium chloride (TDPCh). As a result, the peculiarity of adsorptive interaction between system components was uncovered. This interaction depends on the components ratio and the pH of the solution and leads to spontaneous formation of hierarchical supramolecular structures. The sizes of ion-associates {(Mo138)x–(TDPCh)y} in solution and their zeta-potentials were determined by the dynamic light scattering method (DLS). Moreover, we have studied the extraction possibility of these ion-associates from water to organic solvents. The findings, together with the results of FTIR-spectroscopy, scanning probe, and electron microscopy, allowed us to make a model which describes the evolution of hierarchical structures in the system (Mo138)–(n-tridecylpyridinium chloride) in conditions of increasing cationic surfactant concentration and changing pH.

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