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Updated: Mar 18, 2026

Synthesis of a Water-soluble Metal–Organic Complex Array
Published on: October 8, 2016
Metal Coordination Stoichiometry Controlled Formation of Linear and Hyperbranched Supramolecular Polymers
Cuiling Lin1, Luonan Xu1, Libo Huang1
1College of Material, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, 310036, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Controlling the topologies of polymers is a hot topic in polymer chemistry because the physical and/or chemical properties of polymers are determined (at least partially) by their topologies. This study exploits the host-guest interactions between dibenzo-24-crown-8 and secondary ammonium salts and metal coordination interactions between 2,6-bis(benzimidazolyl)-pyridine units with metal ions (Zn(II) and/or Eu(III) ) as orthogonal non-covalent interactions to prepare supramolecular polymers. By changing the ratios of the metal ion additives (Zn(NO3 )2 and Eu(NO3 )3 ) linkers to join the host-guest dimeric complex, the linear supramolecular polymers (100 mol% Zn(NO3 )2 per ligand) and hyperbranched supramolecular polymers (97 mol% Zn(NO3 )2 and 3 mol% Eu(NO3 )3 per ligand) are separately and successfully constructed. This approach not only expands topological control over polymeric systems, but also paves the way for the functionalization of smart and adaptive materials.
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