Supramolecular Chemistry and Complexes

Supramolecular chemistry examines how molecules associate with one another through reversible, non-covalent interactions—hydrogen bonds, van der Waals forces, and metal coordination—to form larger, functional architectures that behave in ways no single molecule could on its own. Researchers design host molecules like cucurbiturils and macrocycles that can selectively bind guests, enabling applications ranging from drug delivery to catalysis, while self-assembly principles allow complex nanoscale structures to organize spontaneously from simpler components. A central challenge is translating molecular-level motion into reliable, controllable work—the premise behind artificial molecular machines, which remain difficult to power and direct with precision inside real biological or materials environments. Active directions include integrating dynamic covalent chemistry to build systems that can reconfigure in response to stimuli, and engineering coordination cages capable of performing sequential chemical tasks in a programmable sequence.

Works

37,941

Total citations

911,701

Keywords

Supramolecular ChemistryMolecular MachinesSelf-AssemblyHost-Guest InteractionsCoordination ChemistryCucurbiturils