Molecular Networks (2009)

In the future, many modern materials will be increasingly based on the assembly of preformed molecular entities. Their structural characteristics and functional prop- ties will be programmed at the molecular level and their formation as a completed entity will be achieved by self-assembly processes. This in essence is a bottom-up approach and its success will require a deep understanding not only of the chemistry of intermolecular interactions and associations but also of self-assembly processes in the condensed phase. Among various interesting innovations brought about by the development of supramolecular chemistry, supramolecular synthesis is a part- ularly powerful approach for the design and generation of molecular architectures displaying both structural and functional complexity. The combination of mol- ular synthesis (which allows chemists to design and prepare extremely sophis- cated biotic and abiotic molecules through the interconnection of atoms or group of atoms by strong covalent bonds) and supramolecular synthesis (which orch- trates the association of molecules by recognition processes through the use of weak and reversible interactions) opens up endless structural and functional possibilities. Following the perceptive observation by Dunitz that A crystal is, in a sense, the supramolecule par excellence, molecular crystals may be seen as in?nite periodic architectures resulting from the interconnection of building blocks or tectons ca- ble of self-assembling through speci?c recognising events."