Order from Chaos: Probing Supramolecular Self-Assembly with 2D Spectroscopy

Molecular self-assembly, the process where molecules spontaneously organize into supramolecular structures, is a powerful bottom-up strategy for fabricating nanostructures, with examples including liquid crystals, light-harvesting complexes, and protein-based materials [1]. Deciphering the mechanisms driving these self-assembly processes is essential to unlocking nature's efficient design principles. However, this task is complicated by the intricate interactions among components, which govern the transient stages of self-assembly and influence the final structures. The high degree of molecular disorder and the wide range of relevant timescales further challenge our ability to study these processes. Conventional imaging techniques, such as x-ray or electron-based methods, often fail to capture the detailed molecular dynamics due to these inherent complexities [2].