A terminally protected dipeptide: from crystal structure and self-assembly, through co-assembly with carbon-based materials, to a ternary catalyst for reduction chemistry in water

A terminally protected, hydrophobic dipeptide Boc-l-Cys(Me)-l-Leu-OMe (1) was synthesized and its 3D-structure was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. This peptide is able to hierarchically self-assemble in a variety of superstructures, including hollow rods, ranging from the nano- to the macroscale, and organogels. In addition, 1 is able to drive fullerene (C₆₀) or multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in an organogel by co-assembling with them. A hybrid 1-C₆₀-MWCNT organogel was prepared and converted (through a high vacuum-drying process) into a robust, high-volume, water insoluble, solid material where C₆₀ is well dispersed over the entire superstructure. This ternary material was successfully tested as a catalyst for: (i) the reduction reaction of water-soluble azo compounds mediated by NaBH₄ and UV-light with an overall performance remarkably better than that provided by C₆₀ alone, and (ii) the NaBH₄-mediated reduction of benzoic acid to benzyl alcohol. Our results suggest that the self-assembly properties of 1 might be related to the occurrence in its single crystal structure of a sixfold screw axis, a feature shared by most of the linear peptides known so far to give rise to nanotubes.