Photoresponsive Supramolecular Chiral Composites Based on Hydrogen-Bonded Coassembly

Dynamic control of supramolecular chirality and chiroptical properties is a challenging task and has great significance in the preparation of responsive and intelligent functional materials. Here, we report the dynamic evolution of supramolecular chirality and the corresponding chiroptical properties via multicomponent coassembly driven by intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Stilbene conjugated with amino acids can self-assemble into chiral nanostructures with chiroptical activities including circular dichroism and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL). After coassembly with melamine (Mm), a macroscopic nanohelix was observed in assemblies. This evolution process is accompanied by variations in Cotton effects and CPL properties depending on the amino acid domains. The photoresponsiveness of the isomerization reaction was successfully achieved due to the existence of the stilbene structure, where the fluorescence changes can be applied to fluorescent carving. This work illustrates the dynamic chirality evolution and response, providing a simple method for the design and manufacture of smart chiroptical materials.