Supramolecular Materials. Nanochemistry

Organic supramolecular materials may be devised on the basis of molecular components of various structures bearing recognition units [9.149, 9.235]. As shown above, liquid crystals and liquid crystalline polymers of supramolecular nature presenting various supramolecular textures are generated by the self-assembly of complementary subunits. 

Crystallization amounts by nature to the self-assembly of very large, boundaryless supramolecular species. Its control is a goal of major importance in order to be able to generate solid-state materials of specific structural and physical properties (see also Sections 7.1, 7.2, 9.4.4 [7.39-7.42, 9.105, 9.245]). Supramolecular effects play a crucial role. Directional growth of materials may be induced by a template and involve molecular recognition [9.246], occurring by epitaxy [9.247] or on oriented thin films [9.248]. 

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Molecular information-based recognition events represent a means of performing programmed materials engineering and processing of biomimetic or abiotic type and may lead to self-assembling nanostructures, organized and functional species of nanometric dimensions that define a supramolecular nanochemistry, an area to which supramolecular polymer chemistry is particularly well suited and able to make important contributions. 

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