Li Guangfeng, Zhou Zhixuan, Yuan Chang, Guo Zhewen, Liu Yuhang, Zhao Dong, Liu Kai, Zhao Jun, Tan Hongwei, Yan Xuzhou
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, P. R. China.
Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128, Mainz, Germany.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2020 Jun 15;59(25):10013-10017. doi: 10.1002/anie.202000078. Epub 2020 Feb 25.
Herein, the trackable supramolecular transformation of a two-component molecular cage to a three-component cage through supramolecular fusion with another two-component molecular square is described. The use of tetraphenylethene (TPE), a chromophore with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) character, as a component for the molecular cages enables facile fluorescence monitoring of the transformation process: while both cages exhibit fluorescence emission via the restriction of intramolecular motion of the TPE motif, the interactions between TPE and 4,4'-bipyridine introduced in the supramolecular fusion process result in partial fluorescence quenching and shifts in the emission maximum. This study provides a simple and efficient approach towards complex supramolecular cages with emergent functions and demonstrates that AIE features could provide unique opportunities for the characterization of complex, dynamic supramolecular transformation processes.
本文描述了一种双组分分子笼通过与另一个双组分分子方块进行超分子融合，可追踪地转变为三组分笼的过程。使用具有聚集诱导发光（AIE）特性的发色团四苯乙烯（TPE）作为分子笼的一个组分，能够对转变过程进行简便的荧光监测：虽然两个笼都通过限制TPE基序的分子内运动而发出荧光，但在超分子融合过程中引入的TPE与4,4'-联吡啶之间的相互作用会导致部分荧光猝灭以及发射峰最大值的位移。这项研究为构建具有新兴功能的复杂超分子笼提供了一种简单有效的方法，并表明AIE特性可为表征复杂的动态超分子转变过程提供独特的机会。
