Jiangping Qin, Yongming Wang, Tian Wang, Na Wang, Wenhua Xu, Lin Cheng, Wei Yu, Xuzhou Yan, Lingyan Gao, Bo Zheng, Biao Wu
Foldamer is a scaled-down version of coil spring, which can absorb and release energy by conformational change. Here, polymer networks with high-density of molecular springs were developed by employing anion-coordination-based foldamers as the monomer. The coiling of the foldamer is controlled by oligourea ligands coordinating to chloride ions; subsequently, the folding and unfolding of foldamer conformations endow the polymer network with excellent energy dissipation and toughness. The mechanical performance of the corresponding polymer network shows a dramatic increase from P-L2UCl (non-folding), P-L4UCl (a full turn) to P-L6UCl (1...
April 16, 2024: Angewandte Chemie