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Updated: Oct 19, 2026

Self-assembling Morphologies Obtained from Helical Polycarbodiimide Copolymers and Their Triazole Derivatives
Published on: February 7, 2017
Photoresponsive Reversible Assembly of Helical Poly(isocyanide)s
Jingyang Wang1, Federica Kauffmann1, Chengyuan Wang1
1Molecular Design Institute and Department of Chemistry, New York University, New York, New York 10003, United States.
Abstract:
We report the synthesis of helical poly-(isocyanide)-s (PICs) functionalized with azobenzene-ureidopyrimidinone (Azo-Upy) motifs, designed to provide photoswitchable control over quadruple hydrogen-bonding interactions. The PICs were accessed via nickel-catalyzed polymerization with controlled molecular weights and low dispersities. With the photoisomerization of the E-Azo-Upy motif to form the (Z-Azo-Upy)2 dimer, the resulting polymers undergo reversible hydrogen bonding triggered by UV/blue light irradiation. The assembly can be tuned between intrachain collapse and interchain cross-linking by varying concentration or solvent. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy confirms that the helical integrity of the PIC backbone is retained during the photoswitching process. Furthermore, an azide-functionalized Azo-Upy motif exhibits efficient photoresponsiveness to facilitate postpolymerization modification using click chemistry. The presented system establishes a robust platform for realizing controllable assembly of helical polymers to achieve higher-order structural hierarchies through photoresponsive hydrogen bonding.
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