Supramolecular aufbau: Folded polymers as building blocks for adaptive organic materials

The ability of supramolecular chemistry to form structures at many different size regimes may hold the key to an innovative approach to adaptive organic materials with distinct properties. For supramolecular architecture of organic systems, a more intricate hierarchy of construction can be invoked, a type of supramolecular aufbau principle. The structure, and hence function, of supramolecular materials is based on supramolecular assemblies, which are established by noncovalent interactions. These multimolecular assemblies lead back to singular molecule architecture and, ultimately, to monomer or repeat-unit structure.