Issue 2, 2024

Stimuli-responsive synthetic helical polymers

Abstract

Synthetic dynamic helical polymers (supramolecular and covalent) and foldamers share the helix as a structural motif. Although the materials are different, these systems also share many structural properties, such as helix induction or conformational communication mechanisms. The introduction of stimuli responsive building blocks or monomer repeating units in these materials triggers conformational or structural changes, due to the presence/absence of the external stimulus, which are transmitted to the helix resulting in different effects, such as assymetry amplification, helix inversion or even changes in the helical scaffold (elongation, J/H helical aggregates). In this review, we show through selected examples how different stimuli (e.g., temperature, solvents, cations, anions, redox, chiral additives, pH or light) can alter the helical structures of dynamic helical polymers (covalent and supramolecular) and foldamers acting on the conformational composition or molecular structure of their components, which is also transmitted to the macromolecular helical structure.

Graphical abstract: Stimuli-responsive synthetic helical polymers

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
31 okt 2023
First published
18 dec 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Soc. Rev., 2024,53, 793-852

Stimuli-responsive synthetic helical polymers

M. Lago-Silva, M. Fernández-Míguez, R. Rodríguez, E. Quiñoá and F. Freire, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2024, 53, 793 DOI: 10.1039/D3CS00952A

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