Out-of-equilibrium supramolecular self-assembling systems driven by chemical fuel

A rich variety of smart materials developed via supramolecular assembly strategies have been introduced in the past decades. However, most materials reside in the thermodynamic equilibrium state, opposed to those nonequilibrium structures with sophisticated functions that are observed in living systems. To develop advanced synthetic systems, chemists have begun to focus on how to use strategies similar to those used in biological systems for fabricating artificial out-of-equilibrium systems. Heretofore, a rich variety of artificial out-of-equilibrium systems have been developed. In this review, we have summarized the recent progress of artificial out-of-equilibrium systems and categorized them in terms of the chemical fuel used, including adenosine triphosphate (ATP), acid/base, carbodiimide reagents, and many others. For these self-assembling systems, their design strategies, potential applications, as well as advantageous features have been discussed. At the end of this review, the remaining challenges and an outlook of the chemical-fuel-driven out-of-equilibrium systems were also discussed. It is believed that this review has provided some insights and could be useful for those who are interested in the out-of-equilibrium supramolecular assembling systems and their subsequent constructing strategies for various transient materials.