The host–guest chemistry of cucurbiturils and the photochemistry of azastilbene derivatives are combined for the rationally adjusting multicolor emissions through forming different host–guest complexes and their corresponding photochemical products. Cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) can bind with azastilbene derivatives to form supramolecular polymers emitting orange light. The supramolecular polymers further facilitate the [2 + 2] cycloaddition of C═C bonds in azastilbenes by UV irradiation, emitting blue light. Different from CB[8], cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) encapsulates azastilbene derivatives to form a dumbbell-shaped host–guest complex, emitting dark-purple light. This dumbbell-shaped host–guest complex undergoes cis-isomerization after UV irradiation, thus emitting green light. Therefore, this strategy is promising for fabricating advanced stimuli-responsive fluorescent materials.

We report a new method for fabricating supramolecular polymers with controlled structure and molecular weight through reversible conformational modulation. To this end, the crown-ether-based “taco complex” was introduced. We prepared a monomer containing a bis(m-phenylene)-32-crown-10 in the core, which can supramolecularly polymerize efficiently in solution. When the conformation of the crown ether core was folded into a taco complex, the linear supramolecular polymerization could be significantly depressed, thus decreasing the molecular weight of the supramolecular polymer. In addition, extracting the depolymerizing agent with aqueous solution of cucurbit[7]uril could disassociate the taco complex and regenerate the supramolecular polymer with molecular weight as high as before. It is anticipated that this study can provide a facile and general methodology for controllable supramolecular polymerization.

Hyperbranched supramolecular polymers were obtained by mixing a naphthyl-substituted porphyrin derivative and cucurbit[8]uril in aqueous solution, which was driven by host–guest interactions. The formation of a supramolecular polymeric structure can cause disruption of the porphyrin aggregation, thus leading to enhancement of their 1O2-generation efficiency.

Linear supramolecular polymers were obtained in aqueous solution by employing cucurbit[8]uril-based host–guest interaction as the driving force. Water-soluble monomers were prepared through direct metal-coordination. The rigid and bulky terpyridine–Fe linker can effectively enhance the monomer's solubility and suppress its cyclization, thereby promoting supramolecular polymerization.

A bifunctional monomer FGG-PEG8-GGF bearing two Phe-Gly-Gly residues and an octaethylene glycol linker has been designed and synthesized. Water-soluble supramolecular polymers can form spontaneously by mixing the monomer and cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) in a 1:1 ratio through specific interactions between CB[8] and the Phe-Gly-Gly residues.

The host–guest chemistry of cucurbiturils and the photochemistry of azastilbene derivatives are combined for the rationally adjusting multicolor emissions through forming different host–guest complexes and their corresponding photochemical products. Cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) can bind with azastilbene derivatives to form supramolecular polymers emitting orange light. The supramolecular polymers further facilitate the [2 + 2] cycloaddition of C═C bonds in azastilbenes by UV irradiation, emitting blue light. Different from CB[8], cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) encapsulates azastilbene derivatives to form a dumbbell-shaped host–guest complex, emitting dark-purple light. This dumbbell-shaped host–guest complex undergoes cis-isomerization after UV irradiation, thus emitting green light. Therefore, this strategy is promising for fabricating advanced stimuli-responsive fluorescent materials.

Chitosan and adenosine-5′-triphosphate (ATP) are employed as building blocks to fabricate polymeric supra-amphiphiles based on electrostatic interactions, which can self-assemble to form spherical aggregates. The spherical aggregates inherit the phosphotase responsiveness of ATP. Compared to our previous work, this enzyme-responsive system can be more biocompatible and block polymers are not needed in preparation, which makes it possible to fabricate the chitosan-based enzyme-responsive assemblies in a large-scale, cheap way. Therefore, the application of the assemblies for nanocontainers and drug delivery is greatly anticipated.

We have fabricated enzyme responsive polymeric supra-amphiphiles by mixing a block copolymer of poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(acrylic acid) with myristoylcholine chloride in water. The polymeric supra-amphiphiles self-assemble into spherical aggregates with sizes varying from about 40 to 150 nm. Moreover, the spherical aggregates can be disassembled triggered by acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme which can cut off the ester linkage of myristoylcholine chloride. Nile red can be loaded into the spherical aggregates and released in several hours upon the treatment of acetylcholinesterase. The releasing rate is rather fast considering that it takes more than 150 h for Nile red to diffuse out of the spherical aggregates without addition of acetylcholinesterase. It is anticipated that the new enzyme responsive polymeric supra-amphiphile may be explored as a carrier for drug delivery.

We have developed an unconventional method for the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of graphene multilayer films. Unconventional LbL assembly was achieved by the following two-step process. Graphene sheets were modified by pyrene-grafted poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) in aqueous solution, and then the modified graphene sheets were used for layer-by-layer alternating deposition with poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI). The graphene-multilayer-film-modified electrode shows enhanced electron transfer for the redox reactions of Fe(CN)63− and excellent electrocatalytic activity of H2O2. On the basis of this property, a bienzyme biosensing system for the detection of maltose was fabricated by successive LbL assembly of graphene, glucose oxidase (GOx), and glucoamylase (GA). LbL assembly of graphene combines the excellent electrochemical properties of graphene and the versatility of LbL assembly, showing great promise in highly efficient sensors and advanced biosensing systems.

We have fabricated a polymeric superamphiphile based on the electrostatic interaction between the double hydrophilic block copolymer of poly(ethylene glycol)-b-acrylic acid (PEG-b-PAA) and a selenium-containing surfactant (SeQTA). The polymeric superamphiphiles are able to self-assemble to form micelles in solution. The micelles can be disassembled with the addition of 0.1% H2O2 because SeQTA is very sensitive to oxidation. The selenide group in SeQTA is oxidized into selenoxide (SeQTA-Ox) by H2O2, which makes the surfactant more hydrophilic, thus leading to the disassembly of the micelles. In addition, small guest molecules such as fluorescein sodium can be loaded into the micelles made from the polymeric superamphiphiles and released in a controlled way under mild oxidation conditions. This study represents a new way to fabricate stimuli-responsive superamphiphiles for controlled self-assembly and disassembly.

We report herein the self-organization of the polymerizable bolaamphiphile (noted, l-Asp-DA) that contains a diacetylene group and two l-aspartic groups. We found that l-Asp-DA can self-organize into stable fiberlike nanostructures at the mica−water interface. The micellar nanostructures of l-Asp-DA can be polymerized both in the bulk solution and in the film on UV irradiation, and the nanostructures of the l-Asp-DA micelles at the mica−water interface can be maintained after polymerization. The polymerized l-Asp-DA nanostructures can go through blue−red transition upon pH stimuli arising from the transformation of polydiacetylene skeleton. In addition, the concentration (above cmc) of l-Asp-DA has a great effect on the nanostructures. At a concentration of 3.2 × 10−4 mol/L, l-Asp-DA can self-organize into stable fiberlike nanostructure at the mica−water interface, while cylindrical nanostructures self-organize at a concentration of 6.0 × 10−4 mol/L. This work may provide a new approach for designing and fabricating molecular assemblies with controlled sizes and shapes, leading to the development of novel functional polymer nanostructure materials.

Linear supramolecular polymers were obtained in aqueous solution by employing cucurbit[8]uril-based host–guest interaction as the driving force. Water-soluble monomers were prepared through direct metal-coordination. The rigid and bulky terpyridine–Fe linker can effectively enhance the monomer's solubility and suppress its cyclization, thereby promoting supramolecular polymerization.