Supramolecular nanoaggregates exhibit programmable critical solution temperatures in multi-stimuli environments, indicating versatile material design.
Supramolecular assembles constructed through non‐covalent interactions hold immense potential for smart material applications due to their dynamic responsiveness. Herein, 1,1'‐(hexane‐1,6‐diyl)bis(3‐(3‐(dimethylamino)propyl)urea) (DMAPBU) is synthesized via an addition reaction, self‐assembled in water through bis‐urea quadruple hydrogen bonding, forming a dynamic network. Systematic investigations reveal this kind of supramolecular nanoaggregates can respond to thermal, CO₂, CO₂ analogs, halide anions, even synergistic effectors. The thermal‐sensitive experiments show that DMAPBU exhibits a concentration‐dependent upper critical solution temperature (UCST) behavior, modulated by hydrogen bonds partial reorganization. CO₂ exposure triggers almost irreversible ammonium carbamate formation and terminal tertiary amines protonation, eliminating UCST transitions. KHCO₃ addition causes a similar concentration‐dependent change in this system. While K₂CO₃ modulates the UCST over a certain temperature range. Halide anions elevate UCST thresholds through size‐dependent bifurcated hydrogen bonding. The temperature‐dependent 1 H‐NMR measurements elucidate the mechanism of thermo‐tunable behavior of DMAPBU. AFM analyses confirm CO₂‐triggered morphological transitions from elongated fibers to shortened rods, aligning with disrupted hydrogen bonding and enhanced hydrophilicity. Remarkably, synergistic effectors (K₂CO₃/KHCO₃/KOH/CO 2 ) enable programmable UCST and LCST transitions, broadening tunability. This work demonstrates smart molecular design integrating structural adaptability with multi‐stimuli responsiveness, offering insights for dynamic materials in sensing and adaptive systems.
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Zhang et al. (2025) studied this question.
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