Thermoresponsive synergistic hydrogen bonding switched by several guest units in a water-soluble polymer.

Thermoresponsive synergistic hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) switched by several guest units in a water-soluble polymer is reported. Adjusting the distribution of guest units can effectively change the synergistic H-bonding inside polymer chains, thus widely switch the preorganization and thermoresponsive behavior of a water-soluble polymer. The synergistic H-bonding is also evidenced by converting less polar aldehyde groups into water-soluble oxime groups, which bring about the lowering-down of cloud point and an amplified hysteresis effect. This is a general approach toward the wide tunability of thermosensitivity of a water-soluble polymer simply by adjusting the distribution of several guest H-bonding units.