Water-soluble Fluorescent Nanobowls Constructed by Multiple Supramolecular Assembly

Jin Huang,*  Linlin Su, Yixiao Hang, Binbin Shi, Xiaodong Wang and Hui Xu*

Institute of Advanced Synthesis, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, China

Abstract: Ordering and orientation of conjugated polymers (CPs) into well-defined supramolecular structures render the exploration of new properties of the assemblies. However, the fabrication of asymmetric structure such as bowl-shaped nanostructure by self-assembly from rigid CPs is still a major challenge due to their extremely rigid molecular backbones. Here, amphiphilic diblock copolymer (polystyrene-b-poly(acrylic acid), PS-b-PAA) and small molecule (phenylboronic acid, PBA) were employed as additives into the CPs to guide the formation of fully water-soluble bowl-shaped vesicles driven by the synergy of π-π stacking interactions, hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen-bonding interactions between the three components. The size of openings and interior holes of the nanobowls can be precisely controlled by varying the amount of PBA. This assembly strategy may open an avenue for the construction of a series of CP-based bowl-shaped vesicles.

Macromolecules 2020, DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c01728. (Impact factor: 5.918)

论文链接：https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.0c01728