Building from the bottom up

作者：Shuguang Zhang · 发表于：Materials Today · 年份：2003 · DOI：10.1016/s1369-7021(03)00530-3 · 被引用次数：124 · 研究领域：Supramolecular Self-Assembly in Materials、Calcium Carbonate Crystallization and Inhibition、Diatoms and Algae Research

Designed materials and new tools hold the key for future science and technologies. Building materials from the bottom up is complementary to traditional top-down materials processing, but requires a deep understanding of the individual molecular structures, their assemblies, and dynamic behaviors. This approach, using molecular self-assembly as a fabrication tool, will become an integral part of materials production, especially nanomaterials, in the coming years. Two key elements in molecular self-assembly are chemical complementarity and structural compatibility through weak and noncovalent interactions. We have defined the path to understand these principles. The self-assembly systems represent a significant advance in the molecular engineering of advanced materials and nanomaterials. Nature is a grand master who builds materials from the bottom up, one atom or molecule at a time. These materials include inorganic minerals, crystals, clays, inorganic/organic composite seashells, pearls, bone and teeth, wood, silk, horn, collagen, and extracellular matrices. The sophistication of nature’s bottom-up fabrication and construction has inspired us to learn, in order to go beyond nature’s materials.