The use of water as a solvent to facilitate supramolecular self-assembly and polymerization is well-documented; however, it is rare that water acts as a monomer that undergoes polymerization. We repor...

An Iupac committee wants your input to guide its recommendations for key terms in the field

Advancing the field of super-resolution microscopy will require the design and optimization of new molecular probes whose emission can be toggled “ON” and “OFF” using light. Recently, we reported on a...

ConspectusUltraviolet (UV) light has traditionally been used to drive photochemical organic transformations, mainly due to the limited visible-light absorption of most organic molecules. However, the ...

Designing molecular crystals for practical applications requires precise control over intermolecular interactions. We report a click-to-stack strategy to enable facile construction and systematic structural modification of tetraarene-fused cyclooctatetraenes. These saddle-shaped molecules self-assemble into one-dimensional columns with exceptional precision, driven solely by weak van der Waals interactions. Single-crystal X-ray crystallographic and computational studies revealed fully eclipsed π–π stacking, reinforced by the shape complementarity of the negatively curved molecular contour. With alkoxy groups tethered, the antiparallel alignment of coaxial cable-like assemblies produces centimeter-long voidless crystals that exhibit remarkable structural durability under mechanical stress. These glow stick-like elastic crystalline rods display optical waveguiding properties, demonstrating the practical utility of highly anisotropic molecular assemblies with structural uniformity and resilience.