Host-Enhanced Phenyl-Perfluorophenyl Polar-π Interactions

Phenyl-perfluorophenyl polar-pi interactions have been revisited for the design and fabrication of functional supramolecular systems. The relatively weak associative interactions (Delta G approximate to -1.0 kcal/mol) have limited their use in aqueous selfassembly to date. Herein, we propose a strategy to strengthen phenyl-perfluorophenyl polar-pi interactions by encapsulation within a synthetic host, thus increasing the binding affinity to Delta G= -15.5 kcal/mol upon formation of heteroternary complexes through social self-sorting. These heteroternary complexes were used as dynamic, yet strong, cross-linkers in the fabrication of supramolecular gels, which exhibited excellent viscoelasticity, stretchability, self-recovery, self-healing, and energy dissipation. This work unveils a general approach to exploit host-enhanced polar-pi interactions in the design of robust aqueous supramolecular systems.