Self-assembly articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    The design of synthetic systems that can sense chemical gradients and respond with directional motility and chemical activity is of interest. Here, the authors realize and control such behaviors in a synthetic system by tailoring multivalent interactions of adenosine nucleotides with catalytic microbeads.

    • Ekta Shandilya
    • , Bhargav Rallabandi
    •  & Subhabrata Maiti

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The surface charge and ζ-potential of biomolecular condensates is key to their interactions with membranes and proteins. Here, the authors developed a method to determine the ζ-potential of condensates using microelectrophoresis and single-droplet tracking.

    • Merlijn H. I. van Haren
    • , Brent S. Visser
    •  & Evan Spruijt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Assembly of block copolymers can be controlled to give varying morphologies and functionalities, but there are still aspects of the process that are not well understood. Here, the authors report convoluted self-assembly behaviours of block copolymers with discotic liquid crystalline moieties.

    • Huanzhi Yang
    • , Yunjun Luo
    •  & Xiaoyu Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Supramolecular confined catalysis aims to mimic the active pocket of an enzyme to enhance the efficiency and selectivity of catalytic reactions. Here, the authors describe the formation of chiral nanotubes stable in aqueous solution employing a chiral BINOL-phosphate which can accelerate the 3-aza-Cope rearrangement by a nanotubular interior confinement effect.

    • Kang Li
    • , Wei-Min Qin
    •  & Yue-Peng Cai

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The development of supramolecular porous crystalline frameworks with architectures from secondary building units remains challenging. Here, the authors report ammonium node-assembled clusters as supramolecular secondary building units to sustain a body centered cubic hydrogenbonded framework with octahedral cages for haloform encapsulation and reversible photochromism.

    • Xiaojun Ding
    • , Jing Chen
    •  & Gang Ye

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Organic co-crystals are useful in the fabrication of functional materials, but it is challenging to achieve structural diversity of co-crystals. Here, the authors report nine sets of macrocycle cocrystals with diverse structures and stoichiometric ratios giving different luminescence properties.

    • Bin Li
    • , Lingling Liu
    •  & Chunju Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Globally important BTEX hydrocarbons are separated using a T-shaped host with the shape and crystal tiling characteristics of a pentomino. A strategy based on designing and applying crystalline molecular ominos to perform separations of hydrocarbons and other environmentally-relevant compounds is outlined.

    • Christopher J. Hartwick
    • , Eric W. Reinheimer
    •  & Leonard R. MacGillivray

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In thermally stimulated phosphorescent materials a thermal stimulus inevitably quenches the emission due to intensive non radiative transition. Here, the authors report an abnormal thermally stimulated phosphorescence behavior in organic phosphors and show enhancement of phosphorescence and change of the emission color upon temperature increase.

    • He Wang
    • , Huili Ma
    •  & Zhongfu An

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Artificial biomolecular condensates are valuable tools to study the design principles of phase separation. Here, the authors demonstrate and characterize a model system of artificial DNA condensates whose kinetic formation and dissolution depends on DNA inputs that activate or deactivate the phase separating DNA subunits.

    • Siddharth Agarwal
    • , Dino Osmanovic
    •  & Elisa Franco

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The study of cross-catenated metallacages could provide facile insights into achieving more precise control over low-symmetry/high-complexity hierarchical assembly systems but is currently lacking. Here, the authors report a cross-catenane formed between two position-isomeric Pt(II) metallacages in the solid state.

    • Yiliang Wang
    • , Taotao Liu
    •  & Jun Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Despite the structural significance of boroxines in different classes of materials, their applicability in aqueous media is limited by their hydrolytic instability. Here, the authors discovered a water-stable boroxine structure with excellent pH stability and water-compatible dynamic covalent bonds.

    • Xiaopei Li
    • , Yongjie Zhang
    •  & Guangyan Qing

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Earlier methods for droplet network stabilization require extremely precise control and manipulation with considerable energy consumption, making them difficult to implement. Here, the authors present 2D interfacial networks, formed by irreversible interfacial interactions between polymer chains dissolved in one liquid and ligands dissolved in a second immiscible liquid at random points along the chains.

    • Shuyi Sun
    • , Shuailong Li
    •  & Shaowei Shi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Multifunctional composite hydrogels are promising candidates to develop smart and recyclable electronic components. Here, the authors report a reversible on-demand liquefication and solidification conductive gel formed by the self-assembly of photoresponsive host-guest complexes and MXene nanosheets which can be integrated into traditional solid-state circuits.

    • Yu-Liang Lin
    • , Sheng Zheng
    •  & Jiun-Tai Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The formation of artificial light-harvesting systems with high donor/acceptor ratios for efficient energy transfer remains challenging. Here, the authors describe a polymeric supramolecular column-based light-harvesting system by modular columnar assembly of donor/acceptor chromophores, enabling superior light-harvesting efficiency and dynamic full-color tunable emission.

    • Bin Mu
    • , Xiangnan Hao
    •  & Wei Tian

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Assembly of amyloids is important in neurodegenerative diseases, but there is limited understanding of how supramolecular chirality is controlled. Here, the authors report the design of peptide derivatives that allow chirality inversion at biologically relevant temperatures.

    • Stephen J. Klawa
    • , Michelle Lee
    •  & Ronit Freeman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    To enhance the utility of organic molecular cages (OMCs), the evolution of OMCs into higher-level chiral OMCs with self-similar superstructures is meaningful yet challenging. Here, the authors report a pair of higher-level 3D tri-bladed chiral helical molecular cages, displaying self-similarity in a discrete self-similar superstructure at different levels.

    • Zhen Wang
    • , Qing-Pu Zhang
    •  & Chuan-Feng Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Native spider silk has desirable mechanical properties, but these are challenging to replicate in an artificial material. Here, the authors report the use of a microfluidic system to create continuous fibers based on recombinant spidroin.

    • Jianming Chen
    • , Arata Tsuchida
    •  & Keiji Numata

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Membrane technology using well-defined pore structure enables high ion purity and recovery but achieving uniform pore structure and effective pore area is challenging. Here the authors introduce dendrimers that self-assemble, facilitating the formation of polyamide nanofilms with well-defined effective pore ranges and uniform pore structures.

    • Bingbing Yuan
    • , Yuhang Zhang
    •  & Q. Jason Niu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electro-active ionic soft actuators generally present slow responses and poor durability when are applied as artificial muscles. Here, the authors describe a polyelectrolyte membrane based on the assembly of Nafion molecules into micelles with efficient ionic conducting pathways for electro-ionic soft actuators and soft robotics with fast responses and long durability.

    • Van Hiep Nguyen
    • , Saewoong Oh
    •  & Il-Kwon Oh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks as stimuli responsive multistate structures show potential in the field of resistive switching. Here, the authors report a 0D+1D hydrogen-bonded polycatenation non-covalent organic framework showing reversible transformation of multistate-structures triggered by electrical field and temperature, enabling reversibly switchable resistive random-access memory and write-once-read-many-times memory behavior.

    • Shimin Chen
    • , Yan Ju
    •  & Zhangjing Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Coacervate droplets have potential as components for cell-like materials, but are limited by complex molecular structure and control of the internal microenvironment. Here, the authors report stable dipeptide-based coacervates with a microenvironment for the encapsulation of hydrophobic species.

    • Shoupeng Cao
    • , Tsvetomir Ivanov
    •  & Lucas Caire da Silva

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Assembly is an interesting strategy to build chiral hierarchies with premade properties and functionalities. Here, the authors present assembled chiral hydrogen-bonded organic-inorganic frameworks with dynamical chiroptical activities and employ them as powerful and recoverable platforms for enantioselective recognition of chiral aliphatic substrates.

    • Jun Guo
    • , Yulong Duan
    •  & Yi Liu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Coacervate droplets are promising protocells that sequester nutrients, but how new peptides could be synthesized inside coacervates remains a mystery. Here, the authors develop redox-active coacervates that facilitate the formation of new peptide bonds.

    • Jiahua Wang
    • , Manzar Abbas
    •  & Evan Spruijt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Controlling site-selectivity and reactivity in chemical reactions continues to be a key challenge in modern synthetic chemistry. Here, the authors demonstrate the assembly of amino-substituted porphyrins on a water surface into J-aggregate structures in the presence of charged surfactants.

    • Anupam Prasoon
    • , Xiaoqing Yu
    •  & Xinliang Feng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    While heat modification is ubiquitous in biologic systems, it remains a significant challenge in artificial systems. Here the authors demonstrate thermal regulation of conversion between different rigid macrocycle atropisomers and related self-assemblies.

    • Jiaqi Liang
    • , Shuai Lu
    •  & Han-Yuan Gong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    “Cycloparaphenylenes consisting of are cyclic π-conjugated structures presetting interesting physical properties upon functionalization. However, the ring strain and steric hindrance of the substituents hamper the functionalization of small sized cycloparaphenylenes. Here, the authors describe a [6]cycloparaphenylene with twelve methoxy units employed to form a rotaxane with in-plane aromaticity upon oxidation.”

    • Naoki Narita
    • , Yusuke Kurita
    •  & Yoshitaka Tsuchido

  • Article
    | Open Access

    [6,6]-Phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), a star molecule in the fullerene field, has found wide applications in materials science. Here, the authors demonstrate the synthesis of buckyballs with fused-ring systems via electrosynthesis through radical α-C−H functionalization of the side-chain ester for both PCBM and its analogue.

    • Wei-Feng Wang
    • , Kai-Qing Liu
    •  & Guan-Wu Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Strategies to construct circularly polarized luminescence (CPL)-active materials with color modulation and handedness of CPL are desirable for the synthesis of chiral photo-responsive devices. Here the authors develop a CPL system based on styrylpyrenes. Benefiting from CH-π interactions between chromophores, the styrylpyrene aggregates show color-dependent CPL property and photo-responsive behavior.

    • Wei Yuan
    • , Letian Chen
    •  & Yanli Zhao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Packing a finite number of spheres in a compact cluster does not always result in the densest packing. Here, the authors provide a physical realization of the finite sphere packing problem by enclosing colloids in a flaccid lipid vesicle and mapping out a state diagram that displays linear, planar, and cluster conformations of spheres, as well as bistable states that alternate between cluster-plate and plate-linear conformations.

    • Susana Marín-Aguilar
    • , Fabrizio Camerin
    •  & Marjolein Dijkstra

  • Article
    | Open Access

    “The interface mismatch of soft substrates and rigid silicon-based microelectronics frequently causes failures of integrated circuits. Here, the authors develop a stretchable solder based on liquid metal-polymer composites which enables seamless integration of electronic components with soft substrates, showcasing high conductivity and stretchability”.

    • Liqing Ai
    • , Weikang Lin
    •  & Xi Yao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Indirect coordination among individuals through the environment typically requires some basic levels of communication and information processing. Dias et al. introduce a coordination mechanism that emerges in a population of clueless individuals, facilitated by environmental memory, culminating in group formation.

    • Cristóvão S. Dias
    • , Manish Trivedi
    •  & Giorgio Volpe

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The concept of apparent symmetry rising, opposite to symmetry breaking, was proposed to illustrate the unusual phenomenon that the symmetry of the apparent morphology of the multiply twinned particle is higher than that of its crystal structure. Here the authors develop a strategy of co-crystallization-driven self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers and the inorganic clusters to achieve apparent symmetry rising of nanoparticles under mild conditions

    • Siyu Xie
    • , Wenjia Sun
    •  & Jie Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The activation of ethers by weak interactions in supramolecular catalysis remains challenging. Here, the authors describe an activation mode based on dual Se···π and Se···O bonding, that can activate benzylic as well as allylic ether C-O σ-bonds to achieve cyclization, coupling and elimination reactions.

    • Zhiguo Zhao
    • , Yuanling Pang
    •  & Yao Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Polymersomes, as analogues of liposomes, have interesting physical and chemical properties, but have not yet been translated into clinical or industrial applications. Here, the authors report the development of a continuous flow process for the production of polymersomes at scale.

    • Chin Ken Wong
    • , Rebecca Y. Lai
    •  & Martina H. Stenzel

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The use of macrocycles to develop charge-transfer complexes in the solid state was recently demonstrated. Here, the authors develop an on-off type vapochromic system toward positional bromoalkane isomers by the reassembly and disassembly of charge-transfer complexes between a pillar[5]arene and electron-deficient aromatic guests in the solid state.

    • Jia-Rui Wu
    • , Gengxin Wu
    •  & Ying-Wei Yang

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