Supramolecular Polymerization Controlled through Kinetic Trapping

Hao Chen; Zehuan Huang; Han Wu; Jiang-Fei Xu; Xi Zhang

doi:10.1002/anie.201709797

Supramolecular Polymerization Controlled through Kinetic Trapping

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2017 Dec 22;56(52):16575-16578. doi: 10.1002/anie.201709797. Epub 2017 Nov 30.

Authors

Hao Chen¹, Zehuan Huang¹, Han Wu¹, Jiang-Fei Xu¹, Xi Zhang¹

Affiliation

¹ Key Lab of Organic Optoelectronics & Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.

PMID: 29119651
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201709797

Abstract

A method of controllable supramolecular polymerization through kinetic trapping is developed. To this end, two bifunctional monomers with cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) and adamantane end groups were synthesized. The CB[7]-containing monomer was presaturated with a pH-responsive competitive guest for kinetic control. Then, the kinetics of supramolecular polymerization of the two monomers was easily controlled through the modulation of pH. As a result, supramolecular polymerization was kinetically trapped at certain stages, and supramolecular polymers with different molecular weights were obtained. It is anticipated that this research will enrich the methods of controllable supramolecular polymerization.

Keywords: cucurbituril; self-assembly; supramolecular chemistry; supramolecular polymerization.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't