Helicity and Molecular Weight-Driven Self-Sorting and Assembly of Helical Polymers towards Two-Dimensional Smectic Architectures and Selectively Adhesive Gels.

Self-sorting plays crucial roles in living system such as the selective assembly of DNA and specific folding of proteins. However, self-sorting of artificial helical polymers as those of biomacromolecules has rarely been achieved. In this work, single-handed helical poly(phenyl isocyanide)s bearing pyrene (Py) and naphthalene (Np) probes were prepared, which exhibited interesting self-sorting properties driven by both helicity and molecular weight (Mn) in solution, solid state, gel and on gel surface as well. The polymers with the same helix-sense and similar Mn can self-sorted and assembly into well-defined two-dimensional smectic architectures and form stable gels in organic solvents. While mixed polymers with opposite handedness or in different Mn were repulsive to each other and couldn't aggregate together. Moreover, the gels of helical polymers with the same handedness and similar Mn can recognize themselves and adhere together to form a one gel.