Supramolecular polymers : from scientific curiosity to technological reality

Supramolecular polymers[1] are introduced as a new approach to come to materials in which the repeating units are not connected by covalent bonds but by specific secondary interactions. Self-complementary quadruple hydrogen bonded structures with high association constants are presented as easy to synthesize fragments in supramolecular polymers. Some of the many possibilities of equilibrium polymers are discussed, while it is shown that these supramolecular polymers can obtain materials properties normally only obtained with macromolecules.