Construction of polypseudorotaxane from low-molecular weight monomers via dual noncovalent interactions

The design and construction of polypseudorotaxanes via noncovalent interactions from low-molecular weight monomers (LMWMs) is playing an important role in the field of supramolecular polymers. In this work, we synthesized three low-molecular weight compounds for supramolecular polymerizations and attempted to employ the metal-ligand interaction between the pyridine nitrogen and Pd (II), for cooperating with the host-guest binding between azobenzene and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), to complete the end-to-end connection of the polymer chains. Routes for stepwise introduction of two of the self-assembly behaviors as well as a one-pot preparation were investigated by ¹H NMR and 2D nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy (NOESY) ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The self-assembly strategies based on the full orthogonality of both noncovalent interactions will allow for a smart and rapid synthesis of precise structural controlled supramolecular polymeric assemblies.