Chiroptical switching in the azobenzene-based self-locked [1]rotaxane by solvent and photoirradiation.

Because of its dynamic reversible nature and simple regulation properties, rotaxane systems provided a good route for the construction of responsive supramolecular chiral materials. Here, we covalently encapsulate the photo-responsive guest molecule azobenzene (Azo) in a chiral macrocycle β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) to prepare self-locked chiral [1]rotaxane [Azo-CD]. On this basis, the self-adaptive conformation of [Azo-CD] was manipulated by solvent and photoirradiation; meanwhile, dual orthogonal regulation of the [1]rotaxane chiroptical switching could also be realized.