Photoresponsive Rotaxane-Branched Dendrimers: From Nanoscale Dimension Modulation to Macroscopic Soft Actuators

Aiming at the construction of novel soft actuators through the amplified motions of molecular machines at the nanoscale, the design and synthesis of a new family of photoresponsive rotaxane-branched dendrimers through an efficient controllable divergent approach was successfully realized for the first time. In the third-generation rotaxane-branched dendrimers, up to 21 azobenzene-based rotaxane units located at each branch, thus making them the first successful synthesis of light-control integrated artificial molecular machines. Notably, upon alternative irradiation with UV and visible light, photoisomerization of the azobenzene stoppers leads to the collective and amplified motions of the precisely arranged rotaxane units, resulting in controllable and reversible dimension modulation of the integrating photoresponsive rotaxane-branched dendrimers in solution. Moreover, novel macroscopic soft actuators were further constructed based on these photoresponsive rotaxane-branched dendrimers, which revealed fast shape transformation behaviors with an actuating speed up to 21.2 ± 0.2° s –1 upon ultraviolet irradiation. More importantly, the resultant soft actuators could produce mechanical work upon light control that has been further successfully employed for weight-lifting and cargo transporting, thus laying the foundation toward the construction of novel smart materials that can perform programmed events.