This combination of art and function undoubtedly had a large influence on why my career transitioned into the field of supramolecular chemistry. Thus, not only are the assembled chemical entities visually striking, they also have real-life practical applications.
These functions range from imparting mechanical changes, to altering material properties, to manipulating biological ramifications. Keywords: art assembly complexity function mechanical supramolecularīesides having an aspect of beauty, supramolecular structures are created to achieve a chemical function or task. Therefore, in retrospect a career in supramolecular chemistry appears to be simply an extension of childhood hobbies involving art and auto-mechanics. Analogously, the field of supramolecular chemistry creates systems of high complexity that achieve functions or perform tasks. In addition to art, my childhood was filled with repairing and constructing mechanical entities, such as internal combustion motors, where many components work together to achieve a function. This similarity was an early draw for me to the fields of supramolecular chemistry and molecular orbital theory, because I grew up in a household filled with art. Pictures of electron orbitals similarly can be seen as akin to works of art. For synthetic ease, the receptors and assemblies routinely possess a high degree of symmetry, which lends them an aspect of aesthetic beauty. While the strict definition of supramolecular chemistry is “chemistry beyond the molecule”, meaning having a focus on non-covalent interactions, the field is primarily associated with the creation of synthetic receptors and self-assembly.