Recent advances of stimuli-responsive viologen-based nanocomposites

Abstract

The unique electron-deficient viologen-based compounds are the terminally substituted 4,4′-bipyridine with excellent photoelectric response features to be applied in the preparation of stimuli-responsive materials. The emerging stimuli-responsive viologen-based nanocomposites combine the merits of porous frameworks and supramolecular assemblies, exhibiting excellent application prospects in discolouration sensing, catalysis, energy storage, and biomedicine. Employing viologen-based compounds as stimuli-responsive units to coordinate with porous skeletons or macrocycle compounds through coordination bonds, covalent bonds, or non-covalent bonds, the newly formed nanocomposites can effectively improve the stimuli-responsive performance of materials. This review aims to summarize the research progress of viologen-based nanocomposites, including viologen-based metal–organic frameworks, viologen-based covalent organic frameworks, and viologen-based supramolecular assemblies, for exploring and promoting more applications of smart materials in practical production. Moreover, the prospects and challenges of viologen-based stimuli-responsive nanocomposites are also discussed.