Reduction-Induced Crystallization-Driven Self-Assembly of Main-Chain-Type Alternating Copolymers: Transformation from 1D Lines to 2D Platelets

In recent years, crystalline-driven self-assembly (CDSA) has received enormous attention, but almost only for block copolymers (BCPs). Herein, we introduced perfluorocarbon chains into main-chain-type liquid crystalline alternating copolymers (ACPs) to obtain perfluoroalkane-containing ACPs with periodic C-I bonds in polymer backbones via step transfer-addition and radical-termination (START) polymerization, followed by an iodine reduction reaction of C-I bonds to induce CDSA of ACPs and put forward a novel concept of "reduction-induced crystallization-driven self-assembly" (RI-CDSA) of main-chain-type ACPs for the first time. Finally, we proposed the folded-chain model and mechanism to explain the novel RI-CDSA behavior, and its rationality has been proved by the corresponding experimental results.