Department of Organic Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
Chemistry. 2011 Aug 8;17(33):9016-26. doi: 10.1002/chem.201100809. Epub 2011 Jul 1.
The adaptive properties of noncovalent materials allow easy processing, facile recycling, self-healing, and stimuli responsiveness. However, the poor robustness of noncovalent systems has hampered their use in real-life applications. In this Concept Article we discuss the possibility of creating robust noncovalent arrays by utilizing strong hydrophobic interactions. We describe examples from our work on aqueous assemblies based on aromatic amphiphiles with extended hydrophobic cores. These arrays exhibit fascinating properties, including robustness, multiple stimuli-responsiveness, and pathway-dependent self-assembly. We have shown that this can lead to functional materials (filtration membranes) rivaling covalent systems. We anticipate that water-based noncovalent materials have the potential to replace or complement conventional polymer materials in various fields, and to promote novel applications that require the combination of robustness and adaptivity.
非共价材料的自适应特性使其易于加工、易于回收、自修复和对刺激响应。然而，非共价体系的稳定性差阻碍了它们在实际应用中的使用。在这篇概念文章中，我们讨论了通过利用强疏水性相互作用来创建稳定的非共价体系的可能性。我们描述了我们在基于具有扩展疏水核的芳香族两亲物的水相组装方面的工作实例。这些组装体表现出迷人的性质，包括稳定性、多重刺激响应性和与途径相关的自组装性。我们已经表明，这可以导致功能材料（过滤膜）与共价体系相媲美。我们预计，基于水的非共价材料有可能在各个领域替代或补充传统的聚合物材料，并推动需要将稳定性和适应性相结合的新应用。
