Polymer, Vol.101, 284-290, 2016
Bioinspired hybrid material composed of helical polymer grafts and graphene oxide: Reversible transformation of particulate and extended structures of the grafts and application in chiral enrichment
Inspired by jellyfish, this article reports a novel type of GO-derived reversible transition hybrid material, in which optically active helical substituted polyacetylene was covalently grafted on GO sheets. The polymer chains underwent a reversible transition between forming particles and dispersing state upon changing the solvent. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed the reversible transition process. Circular dichroism and UV vis absorption spectroscopies demonstrated the fascinating optical activity of the GO hybrids, which originated in the helical polymer chains adopting predominantly one helicity. The enantio-differentiating enrichment experiments demonstrated the potential applications of the novel hybrids as reusable chiral materials during the reversible transition process, in which L-dopamine and L-phenylalanine were preferentially adsorbed when the polymer chains formed particles. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.