Tunable Fluorescence and Morphology of Aggregates Built from a Mechanically Bonded Amphiphilic Bistable [2]Rotaxane

Mechanically bonded amphiphiles (MBAs), also known as mechanically interlocked molecules (MIMs), have emerged as an important kind of functional building block for the construction of artificial molecular machines and soft materials. Herein, a novel MBA, i.e., bistable [2]rotaxane H2 was designed an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemistry : a European journal 2023-10, Vol.29 (59), p.e202302132-e202302132
Main Authors: Shi, Jun-Tao, Chen, Xian-Hui, Peng, Yuan-Yuan, Wang, Gui-Ping, Du, Guang-Yan, Li, Quan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aggregates
Chemistry
Construction
Electron transfer
Emissions
Energy transfer
Fluorescence
Fluorescence resonance energy transfer
Metal ions
Molecular machines
Morphology
Nanospheres
Organic chemicals
Organic chemistry
pH effects
Rotaxanes
Self-assembly
Smart materials
Zinc
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Summary:Mechanically bonded amphiphiles (MBAs), also known as mechanically interlocked molecules (MIMs), have emerged as an important kind of functional building block for the construction of artificial molecular machines and soft materials. Herein, a novel MBA, i.e., bistable [2]rotaxane H2 was designed and synthesized. In the solution state, H2 demonstrated pH and metal ion-responsive emissions due to the presence of a distance-dependent photoinduced electron transfer (PET) process and the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) process, respectively. Importantly, the amphiphilic feature of H2 has endowed it with unique self-assembly capability, and nanospheres were obtained in a mixed H2O/CH3CN solvent. Moreover, the morphology of H2 aggregates can be tuned from nanospheres to vesicles due to the pH-controlled shuttling motion-induced alternation of H2 amphiphilicity. Interestingly, larger spheres with novel pearl-chain-like structures from H2 were observed after adding stoichiometric Zn2+. In particular, H2 shows pH-responsive emissions in its aggregation state, allowing the visualization of the shuttling movement by just naked eyes. It is assumed that the well-designed [2]rotaxane, and particularly the proposed concept of MBA shown here, will further enrich the families of MIMs, offering prospects for synthesizing more MIMs with novel assembly capabilities and bottom-up building dynamic smart materials with unprecedented functions.
ISSN:0947-6539
1521-3765
DOI:10.1002/chem.202302132