title: Light- and Solvent-Controlled Self-Assembly Behavior of Spiropyran-Polyoxometalate-Alkyl Hybrid Molecules.
abstract: A molecular photochromic spiropyran-polyoxometalate-alkyl organic-inorganic hybrid has been synthesized and fully characterized. The reversible switching of the hydrophobic spiropyran fragment to the hydrophilic merocyanine one can be easily achieved under light irradiation at different wavelengths. This switch changes the amphiphilic feature of the hybrid, leading to a light-controlled self-assembly behavior in solution. It has been shown that the hybrid can reversibly self-assemble into vesicles in polar solvents and irreversibly into reverse vesicles in non-polar solvents. The sizes of the vesicles and the reverse vesicles are both tunable by the polarity of the solvent, with the hydrophobic interactions being the main driving force.
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: Institut Lavoisier de Versailles, UMR 8180, Université Paris-Saclay, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin, 45 avenue des Etats-Unis, 78035, Versailles Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saad
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Panchao
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, 44325, USA.
authors.forename: Jiayingzi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Institut Lavoisier de Versailles, UMR 8180, Université Paris-Saclay, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin, 45 avenue des Etats-Unis, 78035, Versailles Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Oms
authors.affiliation: Institut Lavoisier de Versailles, UMR 8180, Université Paris-Saclay, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin, 45 avenue des Etats-Unis, 78035, Versailles Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dolbecq
authors.affiliation: Institut Lavoisier de Versailles, UMR 8180, Université Paris-Saclay, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin, 45 avenue des Etats-Unis, 78035, Versailles Cedex, France. pierre.mialane@uvsq.fr.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mialane
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Science, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, 44325, USA. tliu@uakron.edu.
authors.forename: Tianbo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
keywords: organic-inorganic hybrids; photoswitchable compounds; polyoxometalates; self-assembly; spiropyranes