“Living” Imprinted-Polymer Reactor Containing Sea Cucumber-Inspired Dynamic Domains for Evoking Selectivity-Online/Offline Catalytic Ability

This study is aimed to develop a selectivity-steerable catalyst prototype, expounding how to acquire selectivity-online/offline catalytic ability. By searching strategies from nature's toolbox, this goal is met by reporting a “living” imprinted reactor which held sea cucumber-inspired domains capable of alterable recognition properties. By depending on the temperature, this reactor was able to dynamically bring up the selectivity-online/offline catalytic ability because of the unique bio-inspired domains. This reactor presented selective catalytic behaviors at low temperatures by virtue of the “frozen” domains which admitted recognition behaviors towards the imprinted species (i.e., the selectivity's “online” state). This reactor presented, however, non-selective catalytic ability at relatively higher temperatures, resulting from the “thawed” domains which demolished the recognition properties (i.e., the selectivity's “offline” status). In this manner, this reactor showed the selectivity-online/offline catalytic function. The protocol of the reactor suggests a prospect for the development of manipulatable catalytic paradigms.