A Journey From Solution Self-Assembly to Designed Interfacial Assembly

This chapter describes the development of concepts in metallosupramolecular chemistry. In particular, the transfer of the concepts from solution phase to metallosupramolecular chemistry at solid–fluid interfaces is discussed. The concept of metal-binding domains is quantified and used for the design of ligands for specific supramolecular applications. The use of weak interactions for the investigation of surface supramolecular chemistry is presented followed by the "surfaces as ligands, surfaces as complexes" approach for the design of functional devices. This conceptual development is placed in the context of the author's own laboratory.