Hybrid Bonding Polymers

The integration of covalent polymers into supramolecular assemblies of small molecules represents a key innovation in the development of functional soft materials. This approach allows for the precise arrangement of organic molecules into well-ordered lattices that are hybrid structures of supramolecular and covalent polymers rather than ordinary single crystals. The proposed work will develop and investigate these “hybrid bonding polymers” in order to understand their unique structures, self-assembly mechanisms, and properties. Specifically, we will develop systems in which hybrid bonding polymers are formed via the incorporation of pendant chromophores on covalent polymers into the crystalline lattices of self-assembling chromophore small molecules. We very recently reported on the successful use of this design principle to create a hybrid bonding polymer which was shown to be an efficient light-harvesting assembly in photocatalysis. The studies proposed here will build on this proof of concept by integrating other chromophores, donor-acceptor moieties, and more complex covalent polymer backbones into these systems. We envision that this expanded scope will allow us to use hybrid bonding polymers to develop novel photocatalysts, organic room-temperature ferroelectrics, and chiral supramolecular assemblies.