Functional materials engineered to degrade upon triggering are in high demand due their potentially lower impact on the environment as well use sensing and medical applications. Here, stimuli-responsive polymers prepared by decorating a self-immolative poly(dithiothreitol) backbone with pendant catechol units. The highly functional polymer is fashioned into gels, formed through pH-dependent cat...

There have been growing evidences for the critical roles of metal-coordination complexes in defining structural and mechanical properties of unmineralized biological materials, including hardness, toughness, and abrasion resistance. Their dynamic (e.g. pH-responsive, self-healable, reversible) properties inspire promising applications of synthetic materials following this concept. However, mech...

The development of stimulus-responsive photosensitizer delivery systems that carry a high payload of photosensitizers is of great importance in photodynamic therapy. In this study, redox-responsive polysilsesquioxane nanoparticles (PSilQNPs) built by a reverse microemulsion approach using 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (TCPP) silane derivatives as building blocks, were successfull...

Metal coordinating comonomers influence the transition metal complex, polymer–metal ion binding, and subsequently material properties in magnetic responsive poly(ionic liquid)s.