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An artificial light‐harvesting system with sequential energy‐transfer process was fabricated based on a supramolecular strategy. Self‐assembled from the host–guest complex formed by water‐soluble pillar[5]arene (WP5), a bola‐type tetraphenylethylene‐functionalized dialkyl ammonium derivative (TPEDA), and two fluorescent dyes, Eosin Y (ESY) and Nile Red (NiR), the supramolecular vesicles achieve efficient energy transfer from the AIE guest TPEDA to ESY. ESY can function as a relay to further transfer the energy to the second acceptor NiR and realize a two‐step sequential energy‐transfer process with good efficiency. By tuning the donor/acceptor ratio, bright white light emission can be successfully achieved with a CIE coordinate of (0.33, 0.33). To better mimic natural photosynthesis and make full use of the harvested energy, the WP5⊃TPEDA‐ESY‐NiR system can be utilized as a nanoreactor: photocatalyzed dehalogenation of α‐bromoacetophenone was realized with 96 % yield in aqueous medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bifunctional supramolecular prodrug vesicles have been successfully constructed based on the complexation between a glutathione (GSH)-responsive prodrug guest molecule (DNS-CPT) and a water-soluble pillar[5]arene (WP5) for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Under the microenvironment of cancer cells with high GSH concentration, 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN-38) with strong yellow fluorescence can be efficiently released from the prodrug DNS-CPT for drug location and cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dual acid-responsive bola-type supramolecular vesicles have been successfully constructed for efficient intracellular anticancer drug delivery, which are fabricated by the complexation between a water-soluble pillar[5]arene (WP5) and an acid-sensitive guest molecule (G) containing the 2,4,8,10-tetraoxaspiro[5.5]undecane moiety. Compared with the control system that only has single pH-responsiveness of WP5, the obtained dual acid-responsive supramolecular vesicles exhibit much faster drug release efficiency under the acid microenvironment of cancer cells. Moreover, cytotoxicity experiments confirm that the doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded supramolecular vesicles can not only obviously enhance the anticancer efficiency of free DOX for tumor cells, but also remarkably reduce the side effects on normal cells, suggesting their potential applications in cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A better understanding of nanoelectrospray ionization (nano‐ESI) would be beneficial in further improving the performances of nano‐ESI. In this work, the pulsed high‐voltage (HV) nano‐ESI has been electrically modeled and then systematically characterized by both voltage‐current and mass spectrometry measurements. First, the equivalent resistance of a nano‐ESI source changes with respect to both emitter tip diameter and the HV applied. Increased voltage could improve both spray current and ionization efficiency of the pulsed HV nano‐ESI. Compared with conventional DC HV method, a pulsed HV has less heating effect on the capillary tip and thus allowing the application of a much higher voltage onto a nano‐ESI source. As a result, a pulsed HV nano‐ESI could further boost the ionization efficiency of nano‐ESI by employing even higher voltages than conventional DC nano‐ESI sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyacrylamide-based polymer networks were constructed as a hydrogel, and the novel and simple method was demonstrated to create dramatically shrinking hydrogels triggered by water-soluble pillar[5]arene ( WP5 )-based synergetic effect of host-guest recognition and electrostatic effect. The shrinking behavior of hydrogels was studied, which significantly exhibited an equilibrium shrinking percentage of approximately 89.2% in weight. More importantly, the WP5 controlled shrinking behavior of hydrogels was further investigated by the encapsulation and release of two types of small molecular drug models (anionic calcein and cationic rhodamine B), which displayed a much better selective release of anionic calcein than that of cationic rhodamine B, due to the host-guest interaction of WP5 and guest moiety of polymer networks in hydrogel as well as the electrostatic effect of anionic host molecule WP5 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ideal energy‐saving smart window can not only provide a comfortable indoor temperature to avoid energy consumption of air‐conditioning but also require low energy consumption for the material itself. However, current studies on smart windows either need extra consumption of electric and heat energy for switching or still face some challenges such as high indoor temperature and low durability. Herein, a supramolecular nanocomposite hydrogel film is prepared by integrating ethylene glycol‐modified pillar[5]arene (EGP5) and antimony‐tin oxide (ATO) nanoparticles. Owing to the thermo‐responsiveness of EGP5 and plasmonic heating induced by near‐infrared (NIR) absorption of ATO, the obtained film exhibits an outstanding photo‐thermochromic effect, which results in excellent sunlight‐induced solar modulation. Meanwhile, the film possesses high repeatability and durability based on the dynamicity and reversibility of EGP5‐based host–guest interaction. Therefore, this supramolecular film is further applicable in the fabrication of smart windows for the investigation of regulating indoor temperature. The result demonstrates that the obtained smart window based on this supramolecular nanocomposite hydrogel film can preferentially trigger its sunlight‐induced photo‐thermochromic effect to achieve a cool indoor temperature for a more comfortable life. A sunlight‐induced photo‐thermochromic supramolecular nanocomposite hydrogel film is prepared by integrating macrocyclic host ethylene glycol‐modified pillar[5]arene (EGP5) and antimony‐doped tin oxide (ATO) nanoparticles. The obtained film exhibits excellent sunlight‐induced solar modulation, high repeatability, and durability. A smart window based on this film can preferentially trigger its photo‐thermochromic effect by sunlight‐induced switch to achieve a cool indoor temperature for a more comfortable life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]