刺激响应超分子聚合物由两亲性磷酸二酯键连接的偶氮苯三聚体组成。

Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, 3012, Bern, Switzerland.

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2021 Dec 1;60(49):25872-25877. doi: 10.1002/anie.202108745. Epub 2021 Nov 3.

An amphiphilic phosphodiester-linked azobenzene trimer has been exploited in the development of stimuli-responsive, water-soluble supramolecular polymers. The trimer can reversibly undergo thermal and photoisomerization between Z- and E-isomers. Its self-assembly properties in aqueous medium have been investigated by spectroscopic and microscopic techniques, demonstrating that E- and Z-azobenzene trimers form supramolecular nanosheets and toroidal nanostructures, respectively. By virtue of the E/Z photoisomerization of the azobenzene units, the two different supramolecular morphologies can be switched by photoirradiation. The findings pave a way towards stimuli-responsive, water-soluble supramolecular polymers which hold great promise in the development of smart functional materials.

一种两亲性磷酸二酯键连接的偶氮苯三聚体被用于开发对刺激响应的、水溶性的超分子聚合物。三聚体可以在 Z-和 E-异构体之间进行热和光致异构化的可逆反应。其在水介质中的自组装性质已经通过光谱和显微镜技术进行了研究，证明 E-和 Z-偶氮苯三聚体分别形成超分子纳米片和环形纳米结构。通过偶氮苯单元的 E/Z 光致异构化，可以通过光照射来切换这两种不同的超分子形态。这些发现为对刺激响应的、水溶性的超分子聚合物铺平了道路，这种聚合物在智能功能材料的发展中具有很大的应用前景。