Supramolecular chemistry articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    Paraquat is a widely used herbicide that is highly toxic to humans upon acute ingestion or chronic exposure. Here, the authors generate a photosensitive formulation that releases paraquat upon exposure to UV light or sunlight, which shows an improved safety profile in zebrafish and mouse models, while maintaining substantial herbicidal activity.

    • Cheng Gao
    • , Qiaoxian Huang
    •  & Ruibing Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Supramolecular assemblies remain of great importance to a variety of fields, yet their targeted design and synthesis remains highly challenging. Here, Cooper and colleagues combine computational screening with high-throughput robotic synthesis and discover 33 new organic cage molecules that form cleanly in one-pot syntheses.

    • R. L. Greenaway
    • , V. Santolini
    •  & A. I. Cooper

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Controlling shape-shift and size-growth in nanostructures are important developments in nanoscience but controlling morphology change with an instant on/off function remains challenging. Here the authors demonstrate control over morphology and size transformation of POSS molecules based on living thiol-disulfide exchange reactions.

    • Xing Wang
    • , Peiyuan Gao
    •  & Decheng Wu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Crystals with multiple structures often perform special functions in nature, inspiring the creation of synthetic analogues. Here, the authors subject polyhedral nanoparticles to two self-assembly micro-environments to realize supercrystals with dual structures, in which the order of the surface layer differs from the bulk structure.

    • Yih Hong Lee
    • , Chee Leng Lay
    •  & Xing Yi Ling

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Porosity in metal–organic materials typically relies on highly ordered crystalline networks, which hinders material processing and morphological control. Here, the authors use metal–organic polyhedra as porous monomers in supramolecular polymerization to produce colloidal spheres and gels with intrinsic microporosity.

    • Arnau Carné-Sánchez
    • , Gavin A. Craig
    •  & Shuhei Furukawa

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Doping carbon nanomaterials with heteroatoms is the most common way to change their catalytic activity. Here, the authors show that the catalytic properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes can be modified by non-covalently encapsulating them within electron-accepting or electron-donating macrocycles to form rotaxane-like structures.

    • Matías Blanco
    • , Belén Nieto-Ortega
    •  & Emilio M. Pérez

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Perylene bisimides (PBI) exhibit interesting photophysical and self-assembly properties but detailed understanding of the correlation between packing motif and spectroscopic properties is lacking. Here the authors report on self-assembling of PBIs in liquid crystalline phases to give aggregates with J- and H-type coupling contribution between the chromophores.

    • Stefanie Herbst
    • , Bartolome Soberats
    •  & Frank Würthner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Uptake and release of glucose is regulated by glucose-sensitive ion channels, but complexity of the system impedes investigation of the gating behavior under physiological conditions. Here the authors use a pillararene based artificial ion channel to mimic and investigate chirality driven switching of a glucose ion channel.

    • Yue Sun
    • , Fan Zhang
    •  & Haibing Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Some photo-physical processes in multichromophore systems might get triggered only if two excitations are present. Here, the authors introduce exciton–exciton-interaction 2D spectroscopy, which is a non-linear optical method that can selectively track the time evolution of such effects.

    • Jakub Dostál
    • , Franziska Fennel
    •  & Tobias Brixner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Proton exchange is critical in many applications, such as in conductive proton exchange membranes, but achieving fast proton exchange still remains a challenge. Here the authors report fast proton exchange in a rotaxane based polymer by exploiting thermally triggered translational motion of the mechanically bonded rotaxane.

    • Xiaolin Ge
    • , Yubin He
    •  & Tongwen Xu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Understanding self-replication and persistence in an out-of-equilibrium state is key to designing systems with new properties mimicking “living systems”. Here, the authors developed a synthetic small molecule system in which a transient surfactant replicator is responsible for both an autocatalytic aggregation pathway and a destructive pathway.

    • Ignacio Colomer
    • , Sarah M. Morrow
    •  & Stephen P. Fletcher

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Selection and persistence of chemical non-equilibrium species is crucial for the emergence of life and the exact mechanisms remain elusive. Here the authors show that phase separation is an efficient way to control selection of chemical species when primitive carboxylic acids are brought out-of-equilibrium by high-energy condensing agents.

    • Marta Tena-Solsona
    • , Caren Wanzke
    •  & Job Boekhoven

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Unidirectional rotation in a synthetic molecular motor is typically driven by intrinsic asymmetry or sequences of chemical transformations. Here, the authors control the direction of a molecule’s rotation through supramolecular binding of a chiral guest and subsequent transfer of its chiral information.

    • Sander J. Wezenberg
    •  & Ben L. Feringa

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Achieving precise control of host–guest interactions in artificial systems is difficult. Here the authors use the thermodynamics of a system in equilibrium to control stepwise release and capture of cyclodextrin (guest) using a coordination polymer as the host and temperature as the stimulus.

    • Rahul Dev Mukhopadhyay
    • , Gourab Das
    •  & Ayyappanpillai Ajayaghosh

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Homo radical spin-pairing interactions between two identical aromatic radicals are common in supramolecular chemistry, but hetero interactions between two different aromatic radicals are seldom observed. Here, the authors find that hetero radical pairing between a radical cation and a radical anion, together with Coulombic attraction, can drive host-guest recognition, representing a new supramolecular recognition motif.

    • Xujun Zheng
    • , Yang Zhang
    •  & Hao Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Perylene diimide-bithiophene macrocycles are electroactive and shape-persistent hosts. Here, the authors describe their self-assembly into a cellular organic semiconducting film whose voids are electrically sensitive to different guests, and which can function as the active layer in a field-effect transistor device.

    • Boyuan Zhang
    • , Raúl Hernández Sánchez
    •  & Colin Nuckolls

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Though dynamics of molecules are generally restricted by intermolecular contacts, C60 fullerene is able to rotate freely despite being tightly bound inside a molecular host. Here, the authors study the solid-state dynamics of this host-guest system to understand the anomalous relationship between tight association and low friction.

    • Taisuke Matsuno
    • , Yusuke Nakai
    •  & Hiroyuki Isobe

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nanographenes in donor-acceptor π-systems generally serve as electron-donating moieties but the reversed structures are hardly reported. Here, the authors present a facile synthetic protocol towards reversed donor-acceptor nanographenes by amination and demonstrate fine property tuning by varying the donating ability of the aniline groups.

    • Yu-Min Liu
    • , Hao Hou
    •  & Klaus Müllen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Nested structures are common throughout nature and art, yet remain challenging synthetic targets in supramolecular chemistry. Here, the authors design multitopic terpyridine ligands that coordinate into nested concentric hexagons, and show that these discrete supramolecules display potent antimicrobial activity.

    • Heng Wang
    • , Xiaomin Qian
    •  & Xiaopeng Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Materials for smart windows usually possess single functionality, thus developing materials that regulate solar energy whilst changing color to affect human emotion is desirable. Here the authors combine pillar[6]arenes and ferrocene/ferrocenium groups to produce warm/cool tone-switchable thermochromic materials.

    • Sai Wang
    • , Zuqiang Xu
    •  & Leyong Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Although protein-ligand pairs are useful tools for bioimaging, they are susceptible to enzymatic degradation and interference from endogenous species. Here, the authors show that a synthetic and bioorthogonal cucurbit[7]uril-guest binding pair can be used to visualize proteins in cells, overcoming limitations of protein-based platforms.

    • Kyung Lock Kim
    • , Gihyun Sung
    •  & Kimoon Kim

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Controlling complex photoresponsive systems while minimizing light input is highly challenging. Here, the authors report two photoswitchable molecular tweezers responding to the same light signals with opposite changes in their binding affinities towards a guest molecule allowing for its “light-economic” relocation.

    • Sandra Wiedbrauk
    • , Thomas Bartelmann
    •  & Henry Dube

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Controlling chirality and function in metal organic frameworks has been an achievement, but very difficult to carry out in covalent organic frameworks. Here the authors show chiral covalent organic frameworks that are crystallized from achiral precursors by chiral catalytic induction.

    • Xing Han
    • , Jie Zhang
    •  & Yong Cui

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Modulating the structural and transient characteristics of synthetic nanostructures can be achieved by temporal control of supramolecular assemblies. Here the authors show a biomimetic, ATP-selective and fuel-driven controlled supramolecular polymerization of a phosphate receptor functionalised monomer.

    • Ananya Mishra
    • , Divya B. Korlepara
    •  & Subi J. George

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The self-organization of nanocrystals into complex superlattices involves the interplay of different interactions. Here, the authors systematically reveal the effects of particle shape and ligand coverage on the assembly behavior of branched octapods into planar superlattices.

    • Andrea Castelli
    • , Joost de Graaf
    •  & Milena P. Arciniegas

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Crystallization-driven processes play a vital role in preparing 2D nanostructures which makes structures with high symmetry hard to access. Here the authors present a non-crystallization approach which is based on π–π interactions of a copolymer for the fabrication of 2D symmetric structures with good dimensional control.

    • Liang Han
    • , Meijing Wang
    •  & Feng He

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Multistate molecular systems usually rely on external energy inputs to switch between states. Here, the authors show that a bispyridyl calixpyrrole system directed by only weak noncovalent interactions and metal coordination can access six discrete structural states, with directional and sequential control.

    • Takehiro Hirao
    • , Dong Sub Kim
    •  & Jonathan L. Sessler

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hydrogen-bonds are widely found in many systems, such as DNAs and supramolecular assemblies, but it remains challenging to detect their dynamics at a molecular level. Here, Zhou et al. study the stochastic arrangement of hydrogen bonds using single-molecule junctions connected to graphene electrodes.

    • Ce Zhou
    • , Xingxing Li
    •  & Xuefeng Guo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The crystal engineering of metal–organic frameworks has led to the construction of complex structures, but has yet to reach the same level of sophistication as organic synthesis. Here, Zhou and colleagues use retrosynthetic chemistry to design and produce complex multi-component frameworks.

    • Shuai Yuan
    • , Jun-Sheng Qin
    •  & Hong-Cai Zhou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Multifunctional nanomedicine platforms are highly promising for anticancer therapy. Here, the authors design polyrotaxane-based theranostic nanoparticles that combine targeted drug delivery with photothermal behaviour to exhibit potent anti-tumour effects in vivo.

    • Guocan Yu
    • , Zhen Yang
    •  & Xiaoyuan Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Polymorphism is a property that allows a material to exist in two or more crystal structures. Here the authors observe thermal-induced structural polymorphism in a bent-core liquid crystal compound and show that by choosing the cooling rate, different structures with distinct structural colours are obtained.

    • Lin Li
    • , Mirosław Salamończyk
    •  & Torsten Hegmann

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Amyloid fibril structures can display polymorphism. Here the authors reveal the cryo-EM structures of several different fibril morphologies of a peptide derived from an amyloidogenic immunoglobulin light chain and present a mathematical analysis of physical factors that influence fibril polymorphism.

    • William Close
    • , Matthias Neumann
    •  & Marcus Fändrich

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Under confinement, molecular switches lose the conformational freedom often needed to isomerize. Here, the authors show that a flexible coordination cage can adapt its shape to guide the photoisomerization of encapsulated spiropyrans, rendering them reversibly photochromic even within the confines of the cavity.

    • Dipak Samanta
    • , Daria Galaktionova
    •  & Rafal Klajn

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Metal coordination of multitopic ligands is a powerful approach to building complex, functional architectures. Here, the authors construct three generations of fluorescent supramolecular rosettes by coordination of aggregation-induced emissive ligands, including a 2nd-generation macrocycle that emits pure white light.

    • Guang-Qiang Yin
    • , Heng Wang
    •  & Xiaopeng Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mechanical motions of molecular crystals have been limited to in-place movement or slow crawling. Here, the authors describe chiral azobenzene crystals that walk or roll quickly forward in response to heating or cooling, offering new modes of material locomotion.

    • Takuya Taniguchi
    • , Haruki Sugiyama
    •  & Hideko Koshima

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The complexity of rotaxane dendrimers poses a great synthetic challenge and the synthesis of higher generation rotaxane dendrimers has therefore rarely been reported. Here the authors report the synthesis of acid-base switchable rotaxane dendrimers up to generation 4 and demonstrate the uptake and release of guest molecules.

    • Chak-Shing Kwan
    • , Rundong Zhao
    •  & Ken Cham-Fai Leung

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The sergeants-and-soldiers effect, in which a few chiral units induce chirality in a large number of achiral molecules, is difficult to quantify at the molecular level. Here, the authors devise an elegant strategy—combining theory and a system of pure organic polyhedra with chiral and achiral vertices—to understand the mechanism of chiral amplification in discrete molecular assemblies.

    • Yu Wang
    • , Hongxun Fang
    •  & Xiaoyu Cao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Deuterating a hydrogen bond can change the bond’s geometry, a phenomenon known as the geometric isotope effect (GIE). Here, the authors find that a hydrogen-bonded host–guest crystal, imidazolium hydrogen terephthalate, exhibits significant GIE on its hydrogen bonds, changing its crystal phases and bulk dielectric properties.

    • Chao Shi
    • , Xi Zhang
    •  & Wen Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Achieving sequence control in polymers is limited by the relative monomer reactivity and thus often statistically random copolymers are obtained. Here the authors show sequence control in radical polymerizations by immobilising the monomer on a porous coordination polymer and subsequent polymerization with a second free monomer.

    • Shuto Mochizuki
    • , Naoki Ogiwara
    •  & Takashi Uemura

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Achieving simultaneous high storage and loss moduli in gels is difficult due to the opposite chemical structure requirements needed for such properties. Here the authors show a spectrum of gels containing CdTe nanoparticles stabilized by glutathione that have such properties which can be rationalised through the developed model.

    • Yunlong Zhou
    • , Pablo F. Damasceno
    •  & Nicholas A. Kotov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    DNA-origami allows the precise recruitment of DNA-protein conjugates but lacks the dynamics found in natural protein assemblies. Here the authors present a synthetic polymer platform that combines the dynamics of supramolecular polymers with the programmability of DNA-mediated protein recruitment.

    • Sjors P. W. Wijnands
    • , Wouter Engelen
    •  & Maarten Merkx

  • Article
    | Open Access

    With the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, unconventional approaches to antimicrobial discovery are needed. Here, the authors present a peptide topology that mimics virus architecture and assembles into antimicrobial capsids that disrupt bacterial membranes upon contact.

    • Emiliana De Santis
    • , Hasan Alkassem
    •  & Maxim G. Ryadnov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    A deeper understanding of the mechanics of molecular machines is limited by the fast motions which are in the nanosecond or picosecond timescale. Here the authors present a real-time observation of structural changes in a rotaxane-based molecular shuttle by transient two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy.

    • Matthijs R. Panman
    • , Chris N. van Dijk
    •  & Sander Woutersen

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