The New Methods for Characterization of Molecular Weight of Supramolecular Polymers

Supramolecular polymers, as a type of dynamic polymers, are subordinate to the interdisciplinary field of polymer chemistry and supramolecular chemistry, whose development has greatly promoted the prosperity of new materials. Notably, molecular weight is one of the most important parameters of supramolecular polymers, which affects the physical/chemical properties and processing applications of materials. Developing new methods for characterizing the molecular weight of supramolecular polymers is crucial for advancing the development of supramolecular polymers. In this review, we elaborate and summarize three strategies for characterizing the molecular weight of supramolecular polymers that recently reported by our research group according to the characteristics of supramolecular polymers, including (1) the molecular weight distinction corresponding to variable fluorescence colors, (2) matching different molecular weights with different fluorescence lifetime, (3) transforming supramolecular polymers into mechanically interlocked polymers or covalent polymers. Besides, we also discuss the limitations of current methods for characterizing supramolecular polymers. We hope that this review can promote the development of supramolecular polymers and significantly inspire to exploit new methods to characterizing molecular weight of supramolecular polymers.