The Marriage of Terpyridines and Inorganic Nanoparticles: Synthetic Aspects, Characterization Techniques, and Potential Applications

The utilization of supramolecular chemistry, i.e., metal-to-ligand coordination, in the field of nanotechnology is evaluated with respect to 2,2':6',2″-terpyridine, as tridentate metal binding site. Stabilization as well as directed self-assembly of nanometer-sized materials into ordered arrays are the most widely studied targets of current research. Moreover, energy- and/or electron-transfer processes are enabled when redox-active terpyridine complexes are bound to (semi)conducting species (e.g., fullerenes, polyoxometalates)-thus, applications in nanoelectronics and catalysis are currently arising from these hybrid materials. Progress made in these fields, resulting from the marriage of terpyridines (as well as their metal complexes) and nanostructures, is summarized in this Review Article.