Volume 134, Issue 46 e202213178
Forschungsartikel

Self-Assembly of Peapod-like Micrometer Tubes from a Planet-Satellite-type Supramolecular Megamer

Dr. Fugui Xu

Dr. Fugui Xu

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Ageing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240 China

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Contribution: Data curation (lead), Formal analysis (lead), ​Investigation (lead), Methodology (lead), Writing - original draft (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal)

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Dr. Ke Li

Dr. Ke Li

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Ageing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240 China

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Contribution: Data curation (equal), Formal analysis (equal), ​Investigation (equal), Methodology (equal), Writing - original draft (equal), Writing - review & editing (supporting)

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Dr. Shanlong Li

Dr. Shanlong Li

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Ageing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240 China

Contribution: Data curation (supporting), Formal analysis (supporting), Methodology (supporting), Software (lead), Writing - original draft (supporting), Writing - review & editing (supporting)

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Chen Li

Chen Li

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Ageing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240 China

Contribution: Methodology (supporting), Software (supporting), Writing - original draft (supporting), Writing - review & editing (supporting)

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Dr. Chunyang Yu

Dr. Chunyang Yu

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Ageing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240 China

Contribution: Formal analysis (supporting), Software (supporting), Writing - original draft (supporting)

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Dr. Yuling Wang

Dr. Yuling Wang

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Ageing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240 China

Contribution: Data curation (supporting), Project administration (supporting)

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Dr. Wenfeng Jiang

Dr. Wenfeng Jiang

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Ageing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240 China

Contribution: Formal analysis (supporting), Methodology (supporting), Project administration (supporting)

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Prof. Shaoliang Lin

Corresponding Author

Prof. Shaoliang Lin

Shanghai Key Laboratory of Advanced Polymeric Materials, Key Laboratory for Ultrafine Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai, 200237 China

Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), Methodology (supporting), Project administration (equal), Supervision (equal), Writing - original draft (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal)

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Prof. Yiyong Mai

Corresponding Author

Prof. Yiyong Mai

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Ageing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240 China

Contribution: Conceptualization (lead), Formal analysis (lead), Funding acquisition (lead), Project administration (lead), Supervision (lead), Writing - original draft (lead), Writing - review & editing (lead)

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Prof. Yongfeng Zhou

Corresponding Author

Prof. Yongfeng Zhou

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Thermal Ageing, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai, 200240 China

Contribution: Conceptualization (lead), Formal analysis (equal), Funding acquisition (lead), Methodology (equal), Project administration (lead), Supervision (lead), Writing - original draft (lead), Writing - review & editing (lead)

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First published: 21 September 2022

Abstract

This study presents interesting self-assembly of peapod-like micrometer tubes from a planet-satellite-type supramolecular megamer, which was constructed through the specific host–guest molecular recognition between azobenzene (AZO)-functionalized hyperbranched poly(ethyl-3-oxetanemethanol)-star-poly(ethylene oxide) (HSP-AZO) and β-cyclodextrin(CD)-based hydrophilic hyperbranched polyglycerol (CD-g-HPG). A peapod-like structure with micrometer-sized tube as the pod and vesicles encapsulated inside as the peas was formed through sequential vesicle entosis, linear association, and fusion processes. Dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations support the structural possibility of the supramolecular peapod formation and its mechanism. UV light irradiation could lead to the disassembly of the peapod-like structure. This study expands the family of supramolecular polymers and opens a new avenue to develop bioinspired complex hierarchical nanoarchitectures at the microscopic level.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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