Bulk and transparent supramolecular glass from evaporation-induced noncovalent polymerization of nucleosides

Understanding the nature of glass is one of the most important challenges in chemistry, physics, and materials science. In this study, transparent bulk supramolecular glasses with excellent optical behaviors and good mechanical properties were fabricated via the non-covalent polymerization of nucleosides. Hydrogen bonding is the main driving force in the formation of bulk supramolecular glasses. The directional and saturated character of hydrogen bonding enables the formation of a short-range ordered structure, while the weak nature and reversibility of hydrogen bonds allow for the asymmetric and random connections of the short-range ordered structure into a long-range disordered network. Various relaxations, including beta, gamma, and delta relaxations, are observed at temperatures below the glass transition temperature, demonstrating the metastable nature of bulk supramolecular glasses. This investigation offers supramolecular insights into the nature of glass materials. Bulk supramolecular glasses were fabricated to study the nature of glass.

Automated summary

Understanding the nature of glass is a significant challenge in the fields of chemistry, physics, and materials science. This study focused on the fabrication of bulk supramolecular glasses to investigate the properties of glass. Hydrogen bonding played a crucial role in the formation of these glasses, with its directional and saturated character enabling the creation of short-range ordered structures that connected into long-range disordered networks.