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Updated: Jun 28, 2025

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Published on: August 18, 2022
The Role of Hydrogen Bonds in Thermally Responsive Crystallization-Driven Template Autocatalysis
Huimin Wu1,2, Qing-Xuan Chen1,2, Yang Su1
1Institute of Materials Research, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Autocatalysis has been recognized to be involved in the emergence of life and intrinsic to biomolecular replication. Recently, an efficient template autocatalysis driven by solvent-free crystallization has been reported. Herein, we unveil the role of intermolecular hydrogen bonds formed by amides in crystallization-driven template autocatalysis (CDTA), which involves the autocatalytic activity, template selectivity, and thermal responsiveness. We found that the thermal-induced cis-trans isomerization of amides possibly affects the H-bonding-mediated template ability of products for autocatalytic transformation. As a result, CDTA can be reversibly inhibited and activated by tuning the reaction temperatures. Our work sheds light on the significance of noncovalent H-bonding interactions in artificial self-replicators.
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