dissociation have a predetermined outcome. For instance, existing approaches to polyrotaxane dissociation involve cleavage of terminal linkages, including ester, acetal, disulfide, and o-nitrobenzyl groups. The release of the cyclic molecules cannot be stopped once the terminal linkage has been cleaved. If the dissociation could be suspended at an arbitrary time, the amount of released cyclic molecules and mechanical properties of polyrotaxanecrosslinker-based resins or hydrogels could be modulated. In order to perform the on-off release of cyclic molecules via physical stimuli, we focused on reversible covalent bonds, which are generally robust yet reversibly broken and reformed in response to light, heat, or catalysts. [20] In particular, a dithiobenzoate derivative, which is commonly used as a chain transfer agent for reversible-deactivation radical polymerization, [21,22] is known for its reversible covalent bonding capability and is reversibly cleaved by irradiation with ultra-violet (UV) light. [23,24] Here, we hypothesized that photo-reversible capping at polyrotaxane terminals would allow for the on-off controlled release of cyclic molecules. To demonstrate this hypothesis, polyrotaxanes capped by dithiobenzoates as stoppers at both terminals of the axis polymers were designed (Figure 1). We expected the cleavage of the dithiobenzoates to be triggered by irradiation with UV light, leading to the release of the cyclic molecules. When the irradiation is stopped, the terminals would be immediately re-capped by the dithiobenzoates, suspending the release of the cyclic molecules.In the present study, we synthesized polyrotaxanes in which both terminals of polyethylene glycol (PEG, M n : 10 000) threaded into the cavities of multiple α-cyclodextrins (αCDs) are capped with 4-cyanopentanoic acid dithiobenzoate (CPADB) (Figure 2). The polyrotaxane was coded as "X/Y-Z polyrotaxane," where X, Y, and Z indicate threading cyclic molecule, axis polymer, and stopper, respectively. The successful synthesis of αCD/PEG-CPADB polyrotaxane was evaluated by 1 H-NMR measurements ( Figure S1, Supporting Information) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) ( Figure S2, Supporting Information). The peaks associated with the aromatic ring of CPADB occurred at 7.51, 7.71, and 7.92 ppm in the 1 H-NMR spectrum of the αCD/ PEG-CPADB polyrotaxane in DMSO-d 6 ( Figure S1A, Supporting Information), indicating the presence of CPADB at the polyrotaxane terminals. Although this result indicates that the PEG terminals were modified with CPADB molecules, the formation of a mechanically interlocked structure remain to be confirmed. The CPADB molecules must cap both PEG terminals and be Polyrotaxanes