Regulation of supramolecular chirality in co-assembled polydiacetylene LB films with removable azobenzene derivatives

Herein, we report a novel model that combines supramolecular chemistry and the LB technique for the chirality regulation of the PDA films. The helical packing of PCDA molecules and the chiroptical properties of the resulting PDA LB films can be easily modulated by different azobenzene derivatives. Moreover, the effect of the photo-isomerization of azobenzene chromophores on the helical formation of PCDA assemblies is investigated in detail. Chiral regulation has been achieved through the co-assembly of PCDA with different azobenzene derivatives, or by the photo-isomerization of the azobenzene chromophores, combining supramolecular chemistry and the LB technique. The hydrogen bonding interaction between PCDA and PAzo is suggested to be responsible for the regular helical packing of PCDA molecules in the monolayer, resulting in chiral amplification of PDA LB films.