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Wang. Chem Synth 2023;3:36 Chemical Synthesis
DOI: 10.20517/cs.2023.36

Editorial Open Access

Self-assembled nanostructures and materials: smart

and bright!

Chen Wang*
School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China.

*Correspondence to: Chen Wang, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University,
Shanghai 200241, China. E-mail: cwang@chem.ecnu.edu.cn

How to cite this article: Wang C. Self-assembled nanostructures and materials: smart and bright! Chem Synth 2023;3:36.
https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/cs.2023.36

Received: 27 Jul 2023 Accepted: 2 Aug 2023 Available online: 2 Aug 2023

Academic Editor: Bao-Lian Su Copy Editor: Lin He Production Editor: Lin He

Self-assembly is a widely observed phenomenon in the natural world, where building blocks (e.g., small
molecules, macromolecules, colloids, macroscopic particles, etc.) are synergistically organized through
multiple weak interactions to form dynamic multi-component assembled systems in a programmable and
controllable manner . This enables the creation of various nanostructures and materials with tailored
[1-3]
properties and complex functions. The development of artificial molecular assembly and biomimetic
assembly research can provide new methods and tools for investigating and understanding thermodynamics
and kinetics of self-assembled processes. By deeply understanding self-assembly at the molecular level,
researchers step forward to fabricate self-assembled nanostructures or materials with desired geometries and
properties, which provide more opportunities for high-performance applications, such as therapy, imaging,
[4-6]
energy harvesting, catalysis, signal dynamics regulation, and so on . Through elaborate design of
molecules or building blocks with desired structural parameters and optimization of experimental
conditions to control assembled pathways, various materials with advanced and improved functions could
be envisioned.

The Special Issue is focused on the recent progress of self-assembly structures or materials in broad
interdisciplinary areas, which involve organic/inorganic chemistry, polymer chemistry, colloid and surface
chemistry, nanotechnology, soft materials, and material science. Recently, many scientists have developed
self-assembled systems based on biopolymers, such as DNA, proteins, and polypeptides, as well as other
natural or synthetic biopolymers . For example, Zhong et al. utilized the dynamic and exchangeable
[7,8]

© The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
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