Solid-State Photoreversible Polymerization of n-Alkyl-Linked Bis-Thymines using Non-Covalent Polymer-Templating

Procedures derived from bioinspired mechanisms are increasingly being used to create novel materials based on the principles of green chemistry. Thymine, a nucleic acid base in DNA, has the propensity to both hydrogen bond and photodimerize. Photodimerization of thymine occurs when irradiated at wavelengths of >270 nm and can be reversed by irradiation at wavelengths of <250 nm. In this investigation, n-alkyl-linked bis-thymines have been supramolecularly aligned with poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) templates by non-covalent hydrogen bonding, and photopolymerized in the solid state. Photo-depolymerization of the products was performed to complete the reversible polymerization.