Cooperative self-assembly of discrete metal complexes

Self-assembled structures of discrete metal complexes have attracted considerable attention for many decades due to their exceptional optical, photophysical, electronic and magnetic properties and their great potential in various research fields such as biomedicine and optoelectronics. Although the field of metallosupramolecular soft materials has experienced a particularly relevant development in the past decade, detailed investigations of the self-assembly pathways and intermolecular forces occurring in these systems have remained until very recently elusive. In this highlight, we have collected recent examples of self-associating discrete metal complexes that have been primarily focused on understanding the hierarchy levels and thermodynamic/kinetic aspects involved in their self-assembly in solution. These studies will represent a sound basis for the rational design of novel functional metallosupramolecular materials in the near future.