Research Projects

Stimuli-responsive self-assemblies are being explored for their potential applications in materials science. Most self-assembly processes are energetically downhill, resulting in thermodynamically stable products. However, some natural self-assembly processes are energetically uphill, requiring constant energy. These out-of-equilibrium processes are self-regulatory and generate supramolecular assemblies with short lifetimes, known as transient self-assembly. Simultaneously, efforts have been made to develop "life-like" systems that can mimic the dynamic natural process. These systems consume a constant influx of energy from chemical fuels, temporarily fabricating diverse structural conformations. The assembled state loses its energy and reverts back to the original non-aggregated precursor, forming a transient self-assembled state. Designing such a transient self-assembled system is a daunting task, but can be achieved through a combination of fuel-driven forward reactions and spontaneous deactivation in the backward process. Jan H. van Esch and his co-workers first reported a chemical fuel-driven transient self-aggregated system using a methylation reaction. Creating energy dissipative assemblies is still an uphill task, but it could open unique strategies in bio-mimicking chemistry. The researchers will utilize the host-guest chemistry and stimuli responsive behavior of macrocyclic hosts like Cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]) to generate transient assemblies. The reaction cycles will be driven by various chemical fuels, such as Urea-Urease and lactone hydrolysis, UV and Visible light, and redox responsive, followed by the generation of transient assemblies.