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Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Self-assembling Morphologies Obtained from Helical Polycarbodiimide Copolymers and Their Triazole Derivatives
Published on: February 7, 2017
An Optically Active Polymer for Broad-Spectrum Enantiomeric Recognition of Chiral Acids
Jijun Yan1,2, Chuanqing Kang1, Zheng Bian1
1State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5625 Renmin Street, Changchun, 130022, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Recognition of enantiomers of chiral acids by anion-π or lone pair-π interactions has not yet been investigated but is a significant and attractive challenge. This study reports an optically active polymer-based supramolecular system with capabilities of discriminating enantiomers of various chiral acids. The polymer featuring alternate π-acidic naphthalenediimides (NDIs) and methyl l-phenylalaninates in the backbone exhibits an unprecedented slow self-assembly process that is susceptible to perturbation by various chiral acids. Thus, the combination of anion-π or lone pair-π interactions and sensitivity of the polymeric self-assembly process to external chiral species endows the system with recognition capabilities. This is the first time that anion-π or lone pair-π interactions have been applied in the recognition of enantiomers of various chiral acids with a single system. The results shed light on new strategies for material design by integrating π-acidic aromatic systems and chiral building blocks to afford relevant advanced functions.
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