A Chiral Nanosheet Connected by Amide Hydrogen Bonds

A chiral organic nanosheet spontaneously assembled under mild conditions from N,N′,N″-tris(n-octyl)benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamide, which is a C 3-symmetric supramolecular atropisomer. Similar to the β-pleated sheets of polypeptides, the hydrogen bonded backbone of the chiral sheet does not involve side chains. The sheetlike structure was directly observed by TEM and confirmed by powder and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The generality of the chiral nanosheet was demonstrated by an inverted tricarboxamide with significant structural differences.