SANS, SAXS, and light scattering investigations of pH-responsive dynamic combinatorial mesophases

The structural variations of dynamic combinatorial mesophases are investigated in dilute aqueous solutions by a combination of small-angle-neutron, X-ray, and light scattering. The supramolecular structures are composed of self-assembled dynamic covalent hydrophobic and hydrophilic blocks (Dynablocks), linked together by reversible and pH-dependent imine bonds. When several Dynablocks compete from a set of constituents, it is possible to tune their molecular associations by pH modulation, which results in structuring variations of the supramolecular self-assemblies. We here demonstrate that even complex supramolecular mixtures of micellar and vesicular Dynablocks libraries can be quantitatively characterized by the complementarity of these three scattering techniques. It becomes thus envisageable for chemists to design very elaborated stimuli-responsive mesophases based on these objects which represent a new class of smart soft materials.