Controlling the conformation and stereochemical configuration of conjugated molecules and polymers is crucial for eliciting their optical and electronic functions in both solution and assembled states, including the solid state. Accordingly, a wide variety of molecular designs and assembly strategies have been developed. In addition to the deliberate incorporation of intra- and intermolecular interaction sites into molecular structures, it is well recognized in supramolecular chemistry, structural organic chemistry, and organic semiconductor and polymer research that molecular conformations and assembled structures are strongly influenced by external environments, such as solvent and temperature.
We have extended molecular design principles originally developed for recognition materials bearing multiple recognition sites arranged in a divergent architecture. By controlling the dynamic properties of these molecular systems, we aim to develop functional materials that exhibit distinctive optical, electronic, and assembly-related functions.