Universal aspects of self-assembly: The wide domain of weak interactions

Abstract

Supramolecular self-assembly in organic and inorganic molecular systems, occurring through weak interactions such as hydrogen bonding, is well-documented. Self-assembly of low-dimensional structures generates three-dimensional structures in some of the complex inorganic systems. More importantly, self-assembly of objects occurs over a wide range of sizes, from a nanometer to several millimeters, although the process appears to occur over limited areas or volumes in large mm-sized objects. What appears to be universal about self-assembly in these disparate systems is the dominance of weak interactions.