Catalyst-Free Spontaneous Polymerization with 100% Atom Economy: Facile Synthesis of Photoresponsive Polysulfonates with Multifunctionalities

Abstract

Photoresponsive polymers have attracted extensive attention due to their tunable functionalities and advanced applications; thus, it is significant to develop facile in situ synthesis strategies, extend polymers family, and establish various applications for photoresponsive polymers. Herein, we develop a catalyst-free spontaneous polymerization of dihaloalkynes and disulfonic acids without photosensitive monomers for the in situ synthesis of photoresponsive polysulfonates at room temperature in air with 100% atom economy in high yields. The resulting polysulfonates could undergo visible photodegradation with strong photoacid generation, leading to various applications including dual-emissive or 3D photopatterning, and practical broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. The halogen-rich polysulfonates also exhibit a high and photoswitched refractive index and could undergo efficient postfunctionalizations to further expand the variety and functionality of photoresponsive heteroatom-containing polyesters.

Sequence-Activated Fluorescent Nanotheranostics for Real-Time Profiling Pancreatic Cancer

“… 39 − 43 Subsequently, we chose a diblock copolymer (named Poly pH ) as a pH-activated nanocarrier, which is composed of a PEG unit and copolymerized hexamethyleneimino-functionalized methacrylate. 44 − 47 Importantly, this block copolymer Poly pH not only maintains the TCM-U11 inside the nanoparticles in normal tissues but also promises the efficient release of TCM-U11 at the acidic tumor site.…”

Photoresponsive Polymers with Aggregation-Induced Emission

“…In 2019, Tang and co-workers developed an efficient C–H-activated polyspiroannulation to transform the 2-naphthols and diynes into photoresponsive spiro-polymers . In 2021, Tang and co-workers synthesized photoresponsive polysulfonates via catalyst-free spontaneous polymerization of easy-accessible disulfonic acids and dihaloalkynes at room temperature with 100% atom economy in high yields . On the other hand, side-chain photoresponsive AIE polymers could be generated when monofunctional photoresponsive monomers and AIE monomers are used.…”

“…Nonrewritable photopatterning can be utilized not only in traditional photopattern applications such as information storage ,− but also in biosystems such as novel intravital 3D bioprinting, which attracts significant attention from various disciplines. In 2021, Tang and co-workers developed a catalyst-free spontaneous polymerization for the in situ generation of photoresponsive polysulfonates 16 at room temperature in air with 100% atom economy in high yields using easily accessible disulfonic acids and dihaloalkynes . Compared with traditional synthetic strategies, this new strategy did not require photosensitive monomers or strict synthetic conditions.…”

“…Finally, the photoresponsive polymers show easier surface functionalization than small molecular luminogens, which makes them ideal materials for photocontrolled drug delivery, biomedical research, encapsulation of fluorescent nanoparticles, and so on . The combination of the photoresponsive AIE feature with polymers can not only enrich the basic research of materials science but also create new materials for high-tech applications and thus have attracted wide attention in recent years. − In this Review, we summarize the previous work systematically and look forward to the future development direction of this field. To offer readers a more comprehensive understanding, especially the structure–application relationship, we first summarized the current construction methods of photoresponsive AIE polymers, including chemical, supramolecular, and physical strategies.…”

A multicolor-switchable fluorescent lanthanide MOFs triggered by anti-cancer drugs: multifunctional platform for anti-cancer drug sensing and information anticounterfeiting

“…Faced with the rapid development of the current world, exploring the common ground of many applications and then developing multiple applications for one type of material is extremely important and urgent. 1 As we all know, fluorescence sensing usually depends on the visible and multiple fluorescence-switch caused by analytes to perform qualitative and quantitative detection, including fluorescence quench, enhancement as well as the shift of emission wavelength. 2 Similarly, chemical fluorescent anticounterfeiting materials also utilize the vivid visualization, multiple and switchable fluorescence caused by the input analytes and external stimulus to achieve information encryption, decryption, decoding, and transmission.…”