Upgrading pillar[<i>n</i>]arenes to reversible photocontrolled self-folding hosts for photoswitchable guest uptake/release and self-assembly.

ABSTRACT: Photoresponsive macrocycles can serve as versatile supramolecular platforms for exploring remote-controllable self-assembly systems and materials. However, reconciling excellent host-guest properties with robust photocontrollable capabilities persists as a formidable yet pivotal challenge in the design and construction of photoresponsive macrocycles. Herein, we demonstrate a photocontrolled self-folding strategy to obtain a new class of photoswitchable macrocycle, AzoP[5/6]A, by directly introducing an azobenzene (azo) unit onto the pillararene macrocycle scaffold, which does not impair the guest binding ability yet allows for significant ON/OFF photoswitching. It transpires that when the azo unit adopts the E-configuration, these AzoP[5/6]A feature a guest-accessible cavity and exh

SUBMITTER: Liu AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12902930 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature