Issue 9, 2021

Morphology control on fluorescent metallacycle-cored supramolecular polymers

Abstract

Regulation of the morphology of supramolecular polymers is a challenging task although the morphology of supramolecular polymers plays an important role in their properties and functions. Here, we report a simple and efficient method to control the morphologies of metallacycle-cored supramolecular polymers. An allyl-functionalized hexagonal metallacycle is cross-linked by poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) dithiol to form metallacycle-cored supramolecular polymers. The morphologies of the supramolecular polymers can be finely regulated by the length of PEG as well as the solvent. In methanol, the polymers form rod-like structures with shorter PEG chains, which gradually change into sheets as the chain length is increased. In tetrahydrofuran, thin films are observed using short linkers, which gradually transform into vesicles and nanorings when the length of PEG is increased. This study not only provides a convenient method for the preparation of fluorescent metallacycle-cored supramolecular polymers via the thiol–ene reaction, but also reveals the influence of the length of the linker and the solvent on their morphology, which will pave a way for the preparation of supramolecular polymers with the desired morphology for diverse applications.

Graphical abstract: Morphology control on fluorescent metallacycle-cored supramolecular polymers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
19 Feb 2021
Accepted
10 Mrz 2021
First published
12 Mrz 2021

Mater. Chem. Front., 2021,5, 3710-3716

Morphology control on fluorescent metallacycle-cored supramolecular polymers

B. Lv, Z. Zhang, L. Ma, X. Duan and M. Zhang, Mater. Chem. Front., 2021, 5, 3710 DOI: 10.1039/D1QM00265A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements