Reversible photoswitching self-assembly of azobenzene-functionalized hyperbranched polyglycerol induced by host-guest chemistry

Reversible assembly and disassembly of rod-like large complex micelles have been achieved by applying photoswitching of supramolecular inclusion and exclusion of azobenzene-functionalized hyperbranched polyglycerol and α-cyclodextrin as driving force, promising a versatile system for self-assembly switched by light. Hydrogen-nuclear magnetic resonance ( ¹H NMR) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy were applied to characterize the azobenzene-functionalized hyper-branched polyglycerol. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic laser light scattering (DLS) were employed to investigate and track the morphology of the rod-like large complex micelles before and after irradiation of UV light.