Functional Supramolecular Polymers

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 335; no. 6070; pp. 813 - 817
• Main Authors: Aida, T., Meijer, E. W., Stupp, S. I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 17.02.2012; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Animals; Applied sciences; Biomimetic Materials - chemistry; Chemical bonding; Chemical bonds; Coils; Dynamics; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Forecasting; Humans; Hydrogen bonds; Materials; Materials science; Mechanical properties; Molecular chains; Molecular interactions; Molecular Structure; Molecules; Monomers; Nanofibers; Nanotubes; Organic polymers; Physicochemistry of polymers; Polymers; Polymers - chemistry; Properties and characterization; Receptors; Recycling; REVIEW; Self assembly; Semiconductors; Signal Transduction; Structure, morphology and analysis; Supramolecular polymers; Conducting polymers; Self assembly; State of the art; Conducting material; Supramolecular structure; Elastomer; Mechanical properties; Polymer; Biomaterial; Technological properties; Functional polymer
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1205962

Supramolecular polymers can be random and entangled coils with the mechanical properties of plastics and elastomers, but with great capacity for processability, recycling, and self-healing due to their reversible monomer-to-polymer transitions. At the other extreme, supramolecular polymers can be formed by self-assembly among designed subunits to yield shape-persistent and highly ordered filaments. The use of strong and directional interactions among molecular subunits can achieve not only rich dynamic behavior but also high degrees of internal order that are not known in ordinary polymers. They can resemble, for example, the ordered and dynamic one-dimensional supramolecular assemblies of the cell cytoskeleton and possess useful biological and electronic functions.