Polymerization of organized polymer assemblies

Supramolecular chemistry has provided the means by which to selectively assemble small and large molecules into intricate two- and three-dimensional nanostructures. The past 2 years have witnessed considerable increase in extending such self-assembled structures into stable, single macromolecular nano-objects, through intra-assembly covalent bond formation. The selective polymerization of specific domains within organized polymer assemblies allows for the preparation of crosslinked, nanostructured bulk or particulate materials, with a variety of possible morphologies and properties.