Photo-controlled order-to-order host-guest self-assembly transfer for an afterglow effect with water resistance

• Due to the general incompleteness of photochemical reactions, the photostationary structure in traditional photo-controlled host-guest self-assembly transfer is usually disordered or irregular. This fact readily affects the photoregulation or improvement of related material properties. Herein, a photoexcitation-induced aggregation molecule, hydroxyl hexa(thioaryl)benzene (HB), was grafted into beta-cyclodextrin to form a host-guest system. Upon irradiation, the excited state conformational change of HB can drive an order-to-order phase transition of the system, enabling the transfer of the initial linear nanostructure to a photostationary worm-like nanostructure with orderliness and crystallinity capability. Along with the photoexcitation-controlled phase transition, an afterglow effect was obtained from the films prepared by doping the host-guest system into poly(vinyl alcohol). The afterglow effect had a superior water resistance, which successfully overcame the general sensitivity of doped materials with the afterglow effect to water vapor. These results are expected to provide new insights for pushing forward chemical self-assembly from the light perspective, towards materials with superior and stable properties under light treatment. An order-to-order phase transition of a host-guest system was achieved via photoexcitation-induced molecular conformational change.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Kemi -- Oorganisk kemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Chemical Sciences -- Inorganic Chemistry (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)