A reversible functional supramolecular material formed by host–guest inclusion

Humanity has an urgent need to develop more degradable materials for solving environmental pollution. In this study, through host–guest interactions between fatty acids-modified β-cyclodextrin (Em-βCD) and polyethylenimine (PEI) oligomer-grafted ferrocene (PEI-Fc), we designed and prepared a supramolecular polymer (PEI-Fc/Em-βCD complex), which showed polymeric properties and was able to be used as a cushioning material due to its good compressibility. Compared with conventional polymers, a remarkable advantage of the PEI-Fc/Em-βCD complex is that it can be dismantled into small molecules and rebuilt easily by controlling the dissociation or reformation of βCD-Fc inclusion complexes. Furthermore, the material also exhibited good self-healing properties.