In situ monitoring of molecular aggregation using circular dichroism

The aggregation of molecules plays an important role in determining their function. Electron microscopy and other methods can only characterize the variation of microstructure, but are not capable of monitoring conformational changes. These techniques are also complicated, expensive and time-consuming. Here, we demonstrate a simple method to monitor in-situ and in real-time the conformational change of (R)-1,1′-binaphthyl-based polymers during the aggregation process using circular dichroism. Based on results from molecular dynamics simulations and experimental circular dichroism measurements, polymers with “open” binaphthyl rings are found to show stronger aggregation-annihilated circular dichroism effects, with more negative torsion angles between the two naphthalene rings. In contrast, the polymers with “locked” rings show a more restrained aggregation-annihilated circular dichroism effect, with only a slight change of torsion angle. This work provides an approach to monitor molecular aggregation in a simple, accurate, and efficient way.