Co-assembly-Directed Enhancement of the Thermochromic Reversibility and Solvatochromic Selectivity of Supramolecular Polydiacetylene

The construction of functional materials via the co-assembly of multimolecular systems has recently emerged as a fascinating topic. The co-assembled multicomponent could promote the evolution of supramolecular assemblies into a high-order nanoarchitecture with improved functional properties. We report the successful preparation of a dual-functional polydiacetylene (<b>MCPDA-Tz-CA</b>) having thermochromic and solvatochromic properties via facile co-assembly of <b>MCDA-Tz</b> and cyanuric acid (<b>MCDA-Tz-CA</b>) followed by ultraviolet-induced polymerization. Molecular packing patterns from powder X-ray diffraction and density functional theory calculations of molecular self-assembly processes confirm highly ordered co-assembled lamellar structures. <b>MCPDA-Tz-CA</b> showed excellent reversible thermochromism properties when the temperature was increased from 30 to 150 °C with a reversible blue-to-red color transition that could be detected by the naked eye. Also, <b>MCPDA-Tz-CA</b> displayed selective blue-to-red solvatochromism against dimethylformamide and dimethyl sulfoxide. Detailed investigations revealed that the enhanced thermochromic reversibility and solvatochromic selectivity could be attributed to the hydrogen-bonding interactions and the formation of a network structure in the <b>MCDA-Tz</b>/cyanuric acid co-assembly. Our research opens a promising route for improving the performance of functional materials via noncovalent multicomponent arrangements at the molecular level.