Self-Assemblies Based on Perylene Bisimides and Macrocyclic Hosts

Perylene bisimides (PBIs) and its derivatives, a robust class of n-type organic materials, have attracted intense interest because of their intriguing pi-pi stacking and outstanding optoelectronic properties. The construction of well-defined nanoscopic supramolecular architectures through combining macrocyclic hosts and PBIs is a fascinating topic of interdisciplinary researches on chemistry, materials science, and nanotechnology, which is expected to gain new nano-materials with unique electronic and photonic properties. In this mini review, we mainly summarize our recent progresses in directing the formation of the desirable PBI superstructures through introducing macrocyclic hosts into PBI systems by covalent or non-covalent methods. The combination of macrocyclic hosts and PBIs may not only modulate photophysical behaviors of PBIs but also endow corresponding assemblies with novel physicochemical properties, which show a wide range of intriguing applications in sensory materials and optoelectronic devices. Thus, these researches extend the construction of desired functional supramolecular architectures from PBI building blocks. It is hopeful that this review can provide a sophisticated pathway for further designing fascinating PBI-macrocyclic systems.