Polymer self-assembly is an essential component of self-assembly chemistry and a methodological cornerstone for the construction of various functional assembly materials (MacFarlane et al. in Nat Rev Mater 6:7–26, 2021;R. F in Science 309:95, 2005;). Compared with small molecules, polymers exhibit excellent structural designability, topological plasticity, and functional programmability at three levels of unit structure, chain conformation, and aggregate morphology levels, and the assemblies formed by them play an irreplaceable role in drug delivery, nanomedicine, smart materials, high-performance devices, etc. (Langer and Folkman in Nature 263:797–800, 1976;Li et al. in Chem Rev 122:4976–5067, 2022;Kim et al. in Chem Rev 110:146–177, 2009;). In recent years, with the completion of the theoretical framework of polymer self-assembly, the focus of research has gradually transitioned to the exploration of the assembly regulation of macromolecules. The search and development of new assembly regulation methods can continuously extend the structural diversity and functional complexity of polymer assembly systems, and will also provide a continuous impetus for the intelligence and programmability of polymer-assembled materials. Currently, it has become a well-established strategy to precisely regulate the changes in polymer structures by introducing external stimuli to influence the transformation of polymer self-assembly morphology and function (Xu et al. in Chin J Polym Sci 36:347–365, 2018). Various physical stimuli (e.g. electric field, magnetic field, irradiation, and mechanical force), chemical stimuli (e.g. pH, redox, and ions), and biological stimuli (e.g. enzymes and nucleic acids) have been widely used in the modulation of polymer assemblies, and by changing the structural parameters of the polymer suddenly or progressively, the various physicochemical properties of the polymer assemblies have been regulated on demand, allowing us to obtain a large number of assembled materials with intelligent behavioral characteristics(Lutz et al. in J Am Chem Soc 128:13,046–13,047, 2006;Mccormick in Angew Chem Int Ed 45:5792–5795, 2006;Ning et al. in J Am Chem Soc 132:442–443, 2010;). However, we should also note that there is still a lack of feasible regulatory mechanisms and effective regulatory means for some special regulation modes, which has become an urgent challenge to be overcome in the field of polymer self-assembly.