Self-assembly is a process in which components, either separate or linked, spontaneously form ordered aggregates. Self-assembly can occur with components having sizes from the molecular to the macroscopic, provided that appropriate conditions are met. Although much of the work in self-assembly has focused on molecular components, many of the most interesting applications of self-assembling processes can be found at larger sizes (nanometers to micrometers). These larger systems also offer a level of control over the characteristics of the components and over the interactions among them that makes fundamental investigations especially tractable.
CITATION STYLE
Whitesides, G. M., & Boncheva, M. (2002). Beyond molecules: Self-assembly of mesoscopic and macroscopic components. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 99(8), 4769–4774. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.082065899
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