Free radicals are a class of chemical species containing unpaired electrons. The open-shell electronic configuration endows free radicals with rich physical and chemical properties, such as redox activity, paramagnetism, conductivity, and unusual optical properties. Over the past few decades, with the increasing variety of free radicals, these chemical structures have shown broad application potential in fields such as luminescent devices, conductive materials, organic magnets, flow batteries, photodynamic/photothermal therapy, and more. It is noteworthy that in most application scenarios, free radicals do not exist in the form of single molecules, and the intermolecular interactions and arrangements have a significant impact on the macroscopic properties of free radical materials.

Based on the above considerations, we hope to develop simple and efficient controllable supramolecular assembly strategies, constructing orderly, stable, and highly functionalized free radical assemblies from the molecular scale to the nanoscale and then to the macroscale, from solution to surface/interface and then to the solid phase. By systematically studying the entire assembly process, we aim to reveal the regulatory rules of non-covalent interactions and aggregation states on the properties of free radicals, in an attempt to establish new methods of covalent/non-covalent synergistic synthesis, opening up new avenues for the creation of functional free radical materials.