Molecularly-defined macrocycles containing azobenzene main-chain oligomers: modular stepwise synthesis, chain-length and topology-dependent properties

Xi Jiang; Jinjie Lu; Feng Zhou; Zhengbiao Zhang; Xiangqiang Pan; Wei Zhang; Yong Wang; Nianchen Zhou; Xiulin Zhu

doi:10.1039/C5PY01950H

Molecularly-defined macrocycles containing azobenzene main-chain oligomers: modular stepwise synthesis, chain-length and topology-dependent properties†

Xi Jiang,^a Jinjie Lu,

^a Feng Zhou,^a Zhengbiao Zhang,^a Xiangqiang Pan,^a Wei Zhang,^a Yong Wang,^b Nianchen Zhou*^a and Xiulin Zhu*^a

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* Corresponding authors

^a State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Design and Precision Synthesis, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
E-mail: xlzhu@suda.edu.cn, nczhou@suda.edu.cn

^b Key Laboratory of Organic Synthesis of Jiangsu Province College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, P. R. China

Abstract

The synthesis and properties of macrocyclic structures have attracted continuous attention since the cyclic topology effect may offer unique performances. As is well-known, the properties of polymers/oligomers are dependent on molecular weight (chain length). Therefore, the precise synthesis of molecularly-defined macrocycles is undoubtedly a prerequisite to precisely explore the structure–property relationship. Herein, a series of molecularly-defined macrocycles with main-chain azobenzene-containing oligomers (sixth generation) is prepared efficiently, based on click chemistry and a stepwise chain-growth strategy. The cyclic topology and chain-length effects on the properties/functions of the cyclic oligomers are investigated in detail by comparison with the linear analogues. This work undoubtedly illustrates an example for demonstrating properties/functions dependent on both cyclic topology and chain-length, allowing in-depth insight into the structure–property relationship. Moreover, the current modular strategy can be extended to various molecularly-defined macrocycles with a wide variety of functions.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C5PY01950H
Article type: Paper
Submitted: 08 Dec 2015
Accepted: 04 Mar 2016
First published: 07 Mar 2016

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Polym. Chem., 2016,7, 2645-2651

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Molecularly-defined macrocycles containing azobenzene main-chain oligomers: modular stepwise synthesis, chain-length and topology-dependent properties

X. Jiang, J. Lu, F. Zhou, Z. Zhang, X. Pan, W. Zhang, Y. Wang, N. Zhou and X. Zhu, Polym. Chem., 2016, 7, 2645 DOI: 10.1039/C5PY01950H

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Polymer Chemistry

Molecularly-defined macrocycles containing azobenzene main-chain oligomers: modular stepwise synthesis, chain-length and topology-dependent properties†

Abstract

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Molecularly-defined macrocycles containing azobenzene main-chain oligomers: modular stepwise synthesis, chain-length and topology-dependent properties

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