Self‐assembly of Soluble Nanoarchitecture using Hybrids of Diblock Copolypeptide Amphiphiles with Copper Rubeanate Hydrates in Water and Their Electrooxidation Reaction

Abstract A simple approach for producing supramolecular nanohybrids was developed allowing preparation of soluble hybrid two‐dimensional nanosheets in water through spontaneous organization of two‐dimensional Cu(II) rubeanate hydrate (which by itself does not dissolve in water or common organic solvents) and cationic diblock copolypeptide amphiphiles. These components self‐assembled into nanosheets with thicknesses of about several nm and widths on the order of several micrometers. Notably, the nanostructures were dependent on polypeptides containing leucine, suggesting that both cationic and hydrophobic polypeptide components are involved in generating the two‐dimensional (2D) nanosheet structures. The supramolecular hybrids exhibited excellent stability, and made it possible to control spectroscopic properties including ligand‐to‐metal‐charge‐transfer (LMCT), d‐d transition, electrochemical behavior, and electrooxidation reactions with ethanol in aqueous media.