Chirality-Controlled Supramolecular Donor-Acceptor Copolymerization with Distinct Energy Transfer Efficiency

Area of Science:

• Supramolecular chemistry
• Polymer science
• Chiroptical materials

Background:

• Chirality is crucial for supramolecular polymers, enabling monitoring of assembly and creation of chiroptical materials.
• Stereocommunication at the molecular level can significantly influence comonomer organization in supramolecular donor-acceptor copolymers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how stereogenic centers in comonomers affect the organization and properties of supramolecular donor-acceptor copolymers.
• To demonstrate the impact of molecular-level stereocommunication on supramolecular assembly and resulting material characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Incorporation of enantiopure N-[(1R or 1S)-phenylethyl]benzamides into comonomers.
• Structural analysis of homochiral and heterochiral supramolecular copolymers.
• Evaluation of energy transfer efficiency in different supramolecular architectures.

Main Results:

• Homochiral comonomers with parallel stereogenic units formed randomly mixed nanofibers due to steric hindrance.
• Heterochiral comonomers adopted staggered arrangements, leading to alternate donor-acceptor organization in nanoparticles.
• Distinct energy transfer efficiencies were observed between homochiral and heterochiral supramolecular copolymers.

Conclusions:

• Stereogenic center manipulation in comonomer design is a powerful tool to control supramolecular copolymer organization.
• The study highlights the potential of these tailored supramolecular copolymers for chiral sensing, recognition, and optoelectronic applications.