Nanoparticle–polymer composites are diverse and versatile functional materials, with applications ranging from electronic device fabrication to catalysis. This review focuses on the use of chemical design to control the structural attributes of polymer‐mediated assembly of nanoparticles. We will illustrate the use of designed particles and polymers to create nanocomposites featuring interesting and pragmatic structures and properties. We will also describe applications of these engineered materials.

Nanoparticles provide key tools for bridging the gap between "bottom-up" synthetic methods and "top-down" fabrication. In this Account we describe some of the unique structural aspects of nanoparticles and the use of these attributes to the creation of devices with tunable specificity and environmental response. We also explore the use of nanoparticles as "building blocks" for the creation of nanocomposite materials that feature structural control from the molecular to the micron scale.

This tutorial review discusses synthetic strategies towards aromatic belts, defined here as double-stranded conjugated macrocycles, such as [n]cyclacenes, [n]cyclophenacenes, Schlüter belt, and Vögtle belt. Their appeal stems, firstly, from the unique nature of their conjugation, having p orbitals oriented radially rather than perpendicular to the plane of the macrocycle. Secondly, as aromatic belts are model compounds of carbon nanotubes of different chiralities, a synthetic strategy towards the buildup of structural strain in these compounds could finally open a route towards rational chemical synthesis of carbon nanotubes. The elusiveness of these compounds has stimulated fascinating and ingenious synthetic strategies over the last decades. The various strategies are classified here by their approach to the buildup of structural strain, which is the main obstacle in the preparation of these curved polyarenes.

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We report the design and implementation of a vertical organic field effect transistor which is compatible with standard device fabrication technology and is well described by a self consistent device model. The active semiconductor is a film of C 60 molecules, and the device operation is based on the architecture of the nanopatterned source electrode. The relatively high resolution fabrication process and maintaining the low-cost and simplicity associated with organic electronics, necessitates unconventional fabrication techniques such as soft lithography. Block copolymer self-assembled nanotemplates enable the production of conductive, gridlike metal electrode. The devices reported here exhibit On/Off ratio of 10 4 .