Abstract
Supramolecular sol–gel transition is time-programmed with an autocatalytic iodine clock, resulting in the autonomous generation of stable or transient gels depending on the chosen initial conditions.
Highlights
We describe the application of the iodate–hydroxymethanesulfinate reaction, an autocatalytic “iodine clock”, to program the autonomous formation and dissolution of a supramolecular poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)–iodine gel
We showed that self-propagating supramolecular sol–gel transition can be achieved and programmed in time using an autocatalytic iodine clock, the iodate–HMS system, and that stable or transient PVA–I2 gels can be obtained depending on the chosen reaction conditions
We were able to program gelation in time and to quantify the almost instantaneous gel formation induced by the autocatalytic iodine buildup
Summary
Developing autonomous chemical systems that could imitate the properties of living matter is a challenge at the meeting point of materials science and systems chemistry.[1,2,3,4,5] The time-programming of sol–gel transition has gained increasing attention in recent years, an interest being fueled both by its possible technological applications[6] and its relevance for understanding living systems' biology.[7,8,9,10]We turned our attention to the oxidation of hydroxymethanesulfinate HOCH2SO2− (HMS) by iodate IO3−, a reaction which has been investigated in detail by the group of R. Thanks to a combination of autocatalysis and supramolecular complexation, the iodate–hydroxymethanesulfinate–poly(vinyl alcohol) system features the emergence of self-propagating gelation fronts, stable or transient depending on the fine-tuning of the system. Clock reactions are versatile in situ time-controlled chemical triggers with great potential for advanced materials applications.
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