Metallo-Supramolecular Polymers and Gels: A Dynamic Class of Organic/Inorganic Hybrid Polymers

摘要

Supramolecular chemistry, which utilizes reversible non-covalent interactions, has been utilized by a number of groups in recent years to bind monomeric units together into larger structures and polymeric aggregates. Architectural and dynamic parameters that determine the properties of such polymers, including the degree of polymerization (DP), the conformation of the chain, and its lifetime, are determined by the strength and kinetics of the reversible noncovalent interactions, which in turn can be adjusted by external conditions in a way that is not possible for covalent bonds in traditional macromolecules. Polymers based on this concept thus hold promise as stimuli-responsive materials that combine many of the attractive features of conventional polymers with properties that result from the reversibility of the noncovalent bonds between monomeric units. One of the easiest conceptual ways of accessing such systems is the placement of “sticky” noncovalent binding motifs on the chain ends of a bifunctional core unit. Consequently, the interactions between these end groups can result in self-assembly of the monomer units into supramolecular polymers in which noncovalent bonds are an integral part of the polymeric backbone.