Spontaneously Self-Assembled Polar Asymmetric Multilayers Formed by Complementary H-Bonds

Driven by weak intermolecular interactions between the complementary H-bonds, melamine derivatives and barbituric acids spontaneously self-assemble into the supramolecular ribbon shown. Surprisingly, the supramolecular ribbons stack into a polar, asymmetric (head-to-tail) multilayer structure during film formation. The structure−property relationship of these thick films was investigated using X-ray diffraction and several optical techniques.