Switchable supramolecular polymers from the orthogonal self-assembly of quadruple hydrogen bonding and benzo-21-crown-7-secondary ammonium salt recognition.

Novel linear supramolecular polymers were constructed by the orthogonal self-assembly of a heteroditopic monomer and a homoditopic monomer. The polymerization is driven by a combination of quadruple hydrogen bonding and benzo-21-crown-7 based host-guest complexation. The disassembly-assembly of these novel polymers could be reversibly switched by addition/removal of K(+).