Do chemists control plane packing, i.e. two-dimensional self-assembly, at all scales?

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) self-assembly (SA) is an efficient strategy to organize building blocks in a simple and efficient way. Actually, different communities of chemists or physicists use 2D SA, with different systems at different scales: molecules, nanoobjects, micron-sized colloidal particles, and even millimetric plastic shapes. Although, the cases of study and the perspectives are different, general trends and similar problems occur for all of them. In this Perspective, we combine mathematical considerations with experimental approaches in chemistry and physico-chemistry to draw general considerations on 2D SA. By building parallels between each field of study, global trends are generalized for the elaboration of compact or porous single-component SA, of binary saturated SA, and of quasiperiodic SA. Factors that influence the formation of superstructures are also rationalized, such as the control of defects, of the dynamics of formation, of the interaction potentials or of external driving forces.