中国科学院大学 School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Wang Caiqi’ group has made some progress in the research field of supramolecular self-assembly. The complexation and gelation behavior between α-cyclodextrin and multi-arm polymer β-cyclodextrin-PCL (β-CD-PCL) with a unique “jellyfish-like” structure are thoroughly investigated in organic solvent N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and a new heat-induced organogel is obtained. However, PCL linear polymers can’t form organogels under the same condition. The complexation is characterized by rheological measurements, DSC, XRD, and SEM. The SEM images reveal that the complexes between β-CD-PCL and α-CD present a novel topological helix porous structure which is distinctly different from the lamellar structure formed by PCL linear polymers and α-CD, suggesting the unique “jellyfish-like” structure of β-CD-PCL is crucial for the formation of the organogels. This research may provide insight into constructing new supramolecular organogels and potential for designing new functional biomaterials. The above work has been accepted by the Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics.