A supramolecular hyperbranched polymer with multi-responsiveness constructed by pillar[5]arene-based host–guest recognition and its application in the breath figure method

Abstract

In this work, a disulfide-bridged bispillar[5]arene (A₂) and tritopic neutral guest molecule (B₃) were synthesized and used to construct supramolecular hyperbranched polymers (SHPs) utilizing pillar[5]arene-based host–guest interactions. In particular, a supramolecular gel with interesting reversible gel–sol transition in response to a temperature change and redox owing to the dynamic host–guest complexation and the characteristics of the disulfide bond can be obtained via the self-assembly behavior of the SHPs under high concentration. Moreover, honeycomb-patterned films can be successfully prepared by utilizing the breath figure method.