Dynamic Control over Hierarchically Dendritic Architectures of Simple Heterogenous Monomers by Living Supramolecular...

Area of Science:

• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Living supramolecular assembly technology for supramolecular block copolymers (SBCPs) requires two non-equilibrium kinetic systems.
• Simple monomers typically cannot form kinetic states due to low spontaneous nucleation barriers, hindering SBCP preparation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a method for preparing living supramolecular co-assemblies (LSCA) using simple monomers.
• To overcome the limitations of spontaneous nucleation in simple molecules for supramolecular assembly.
• To explore the potential of confinement effects in creating advanced supramolecular structures.

Main Methods:

• Utilized layered double hydroxide (LDH) confinement to facilitate the formation of living seeds from simple monomers.
• Employed LDH's ordered topology to guide the sequential assembly of monomers and create multidirectional binding sites.
• Investigated the growth dynamics of the second monomer on the pre-formed living seeds.

Main Results:

• Successfully formed living supramolecular co-assemblies (LSCA) from various simple monomers confined within LDH.
• LDH confinement overcame the energy barrier for nucleation, enabling the formation of stable living seeds.
• Achieved a maximum dendritic LSCA branch length of 3.5 cm, demonstrating significant structural control and growth.

Conclusions:

• Confinement within LDH is a viable strategy to enable the formation of LSCA from simple monomers.
• The ordered topology of LDH can be effectively transferred to the assembled structures, influencing their architecture.
• This universal strategy opens avenues for developing multi-function and multi-topology advanced supramolecular materials.