Synthesis of nanometer-sized rod-coil block copolymers.

We present the solid-supported synthesis of a linear rigid rod-like tetradeca(p-benzamide) nanorod as well as a pentadeca( p -benzamide) nanorod carrying an amide N-hexyl side chain at the center of the rod (on the 8(th) amino acid of the molecule). These nanorods were conjugated with solubilizing poly(ethylene glycol) chains and their solution aggregation was investigated. Both rod-coil block copolymers form soluble aggregates even in polar aprotic solvents such as DMF and DMSO. We show that sequence-controlled nanometer-sized shape persistent aramide scaffolds can readily be prepared using solid-supported synthesis.