Multistimuli‐Responsive Supramolecular Assembly of Cucurbituril/Cyclodextrin Pairs with an Azobenzene‐Containing Bispyridinium Guest

A linear supramolecular architecture was success- fully constructed by the inclusion complexation of a-cyclo- dextrin with azobenzene and the host-stabilized charge- transfer interaction of naphthalene and a bispyridinium guest with cucurbit(8)uril in water, which was comprehen- sively characterized by 1 H NMR spectroscopy, UV/Vis absorp- tion, fluorescence, circular dichroism spectroscopy, dynamic laser scattering, and microscopic observations. Significantly, because it benefits from the photoinduced isomerization of the azophenyl group and the chemical reduction of bispyri- dinium moiety with noncovalent connections, the assembly/ disassembly process of this supramolecular nanostructure can be efficiently modulated by external stimuli, including temperature, UV and visible-light irradiation, and chemical redox.