Hydrogen-bonded ribbons, tapes and sheets as motifs for crystal engineering

The design of new architectures for the purpose of crystal engineering has generated great interest in recent years. In particular, organic compounds have been the focus of many studies due to the presence of functional groups that can form strong and stable intermolecular interactions. Therefore, recognizing geometry and functionality at the molecular level has relevant implications in the design of supramolecular patterns. These patterns in turn can be translated to physical or chemical properties in a solid. This article is a presentation of compounds that have been designed for the purpose of molecular recognition and crystal engineering. In particular our focus will be directed towards organic structures based on the tape, ribbon, and sheet motifs. Several approaches in the design of functional solids will be presented, emphasizing the use of certain complementary intermolecular interactions for this purpose. It is not our attempt to define all concepts used for crystal engineering, but to present recent advances in this field.