Supramolecular Chemistry: From Host-guest Complexes to Supramolecular Polymers

Combining the concepts of supramolecular chemistry with material science has led to the development of supramolecular polymer chemistry. Although a large number of host-guest motifs have been produced, only a limited number of recognition motifs have been utilized as supramolecular connections within polymeric assemblies. In this account, we describe the molecular recognition of host molecules based on a calix[5]arene and a bisporphyrin, demonstrating unique guest encapsulations; subsequently, these host-guest motifs were applied to the synthesis of supramolecular polymers that display polymer-like properties in both solution and solid states. In addition, we disclose that bisresorcinarenes form supramolecular polymers that are connected via a hydrogen-bonded rim-to-rim dimeric structure, which is composed of two resorcinarene moieties.