Figure 3.

a) pDTT‐Cat₂₀, Al³⁺, and rhodamine 6G in solution and b) after inducing hydrogel formation by addition of NaOH to raise pH (>10). c) Mechanism of gel breakdown, induced either by depolymerization through decapping by addition of 10 equiv DTT and 5 equiv Et₃N w.r.t. end caps (top), or by cleavage of Al³⁺–catecholato cross‐links at low pH, by addition of 1 m HCl in MeOH (bottom). d) Resulting liquefaction of the hydrogel and concomitant release of rhodamine 6G into solution after 100 min (depolymerization) and 17 min (catecholato–metal cross‐link cleavage).