By utilizing nanoreactor-like structures, the immobilization
of
macromolecules such as calixarenes and cyclodextrins (CD) with bucket-like
structures provides new possibilities for engineered surface-molecule
systems. The practical use of any molecular system depends on the
availability of a universal procedure for immobilizing molecules with
torus-like structures on various surfaces while maintaining identical
operating parameters. There are currently several steps, including
toxic solvent-based approaches using modified β-CD to covalently
attach to surfaces with multistep reactions. However, the existing
multistep process results in molecular orientation, restricts the
accessibility of the hydrophobic barrel of β-CD’s for
practical use, and is effectively unable to use the surfaces immobilized
with β-CD for a variety of applications. In this study, it
was demonstrated that β-CD attached to the oxide-based semiconductor
and metal surfaces through a condensation reaction between the hydroxyl-terminated
oxide-based semiconductor/metal oxide and β-CD in supercritical
carbon dioxide (SCCO2) as a medium. The primary benefit
of SCCO2-assisted grafting of unmodified β-CD on
various oxide-based metal and semiconductor surfaces is that it is
a simple, efficient, one-step process and that it is ligand-free,
scalable, substrate-independent, and uses minimal energy. Various
physical microscopy and chemical spectroscopic methods were used to
analyze the grafted β-CD oligomers. The application of the grafted
β-CD films was demonstrated by the immobilization of rhodamine
B (RhB), a dye, and dopamine, a drug. The in situ nucleation and growth
of silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) in the molecular systems were studied
for antibacterial and tribological properties by utilizing the guest–host
interaction ability of β-CD.