title: General Approach To Construct Photoresponsive Self-Assembly in a Light-Inert Amphiphilic System.
abstract: The ability to modulate amphiphilic aggregation reversibly with external stimuli, especially using light as a trigger, is of great importance. This has greatly contributed to the development of applications using self-assembly. However, most previously described systems are based on a specific molecular design and have shown difficultly in their application to light-inert aggregation. Here, we developed a general and effective approach to control the morphology of amphiphilic aggregates by light, which is suitable for different assemblies such as micelles, vesicles, and helixes. Our strategy is to construct a photoresponsive factor into light-inert self-assemblies. On the basis of the different capabilities to form host-guest inclusions between photoresponsive azobenzene sodium and light-inert molecules with cyclodextrin, the transformation of the corresponding amphiphilic aggregation can be controlled easily and reversibly by light stimuli. Not only the nanostructure of the aggregates but also the phase behavior, such as gel formation, can be modulated upon light irradiation using this method.
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lian
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xuedong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), State Key Laboratory for Structural Chemistry of Unstable and Stable Species, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jianbin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang