Cooperativity Scale: A Structure–Mechanism Correlation in the Self-Assembly of Benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamides

ConspectusThe self-assembly of small and well-defined molecules using noncovalent interactions to generate various nano- and microarchitectures has been extensively studied. Among various architectures, one-dimensional (1-D) nano-objects have garnered significant attention. It has become increasingly evident that a cooperative or nucleation–elongation mechanism of polymerization leads to highly ordered 1-D supramolecular polymers, analogous to shape-persistent biopolymers such as actin. With this in mind, achieving cooperativity in self-assembled structures has been actively pursued with significant success. Only recently, researchers are focusing on the origin of the mechanism at the molecular level in different synthetic systems. Taking a step further, a thorough quantitative structure–mechanism correlation is crucial to control the size, shape, and functions of supramolecular polymers, and this is currently lacking in the literature.Among a plethora of molecules, benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxamides (BTAs) pr...