Supramolecular assembly of melamine and its derivatives: nanostructures to functional materials

The last twenty years have witnessed increasing research activity in the area of supramolecular chemistry of 1 : 1 co-assembly of melamine (M)–cyanuric acid (CA), since the historic discovery of the M·CA aggregate in crystal form and its structural analysis by Wang and his coworkers in 1990. Its useful chemical structure and fascinating H-bonding interaction sites distinguish M and its analogous derivatives as scaffolding components in the field of supramolecular chemistry to develop desired nano-to-micro scaled architecture. To date, M-based supramolecular assemblies are known in diverse forms which include fascinating nano- to micromorphological structures, molecular guest boxes, small molecular gels, membrane, sensor and liquid crystal development, polymeric scaffolds etc. In this review, we have covered the development of M and its derivatives, encompassing both nano/micro-ordered structures and advanced functional materials.