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Updated: Apr 22, 2026

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
Self-assembly behavior of a linear-star supramolecular amphiphile based on host-guest complexation
Juan Wang1, Xing Wang, Fei Yang
1Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing 100190, China.
Abstract:
A star polymer, β-cyclodextrin-poly(l-lactide) (β-CD-PLLA), and a linear polymer, azobenzene-poly(ethylene glycol) (Azo-PEG), could self-assemble into a supramolecular amphiphilic copolymer (β-CD-PLLA@Azo-PEG) based on the host-guest interaction between β-CD and azobenzene moieties. This linear-star supramolecular amphiphilic copolymer further self-assembled into a variety of morphologies, including sphere-like micelle, carambola-like micelle, naan-like micelle, shuttle-like lamellae, tube-like fiber, and random curled-up lamellae, by tuning the length of hydrophilic or hydrophobic chains. The variation of morphology was closely related to the topological structure and block ratio of the supramolecular amphiphiles. These self-assembly structures could disassemble upon an ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation.
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