Stereoselective Seed Induced Living Supramolecular Polymerization

Stereoselective and temporally controlled supramolecular polymerizations are ubiquitous in nature and is a desirable attribute to the design of chiral, well-defined functional materials. Kinetically controlled, living supramolecular polymerization (LSP) has emerged recently to synthesize supramolecular polymers with controlled length and narrow dispersity. On the other hand, stringent design requirements for chiral discriminating monomers precludes the stereoselective control of the supramolecular polymer's structure. Herein we report a synergetic stereo and structural control of supramolecular polymerization by the realization of an unprecedented stereoselective seed induced LSP. Homochiral and seeded growth is demonstrated with bischromophoric naphthalene diimide (NDI) enantiomers with chiral binaphthyl amine core, exhibiting strong self-recognition abilities and pathway complexity.