Metallomesogens:: a promise or a fact?

The discipline of metallomesogens has been actively investigated in the past decade. Recent research has focused mainly on building up basic knowledge by exploring new shapes. The interest comprises both the molecular and supramolecular level. Important results are the generation of helical superstructures or the discovery of a McMillan phase. Different approaches include lanthanide complexes, specially designed ligands and polymeric compounds. Applications have been proposed on the basis of the optical, mechanical and electronic properties of these materials. Up to now, the only true application is in solid state chemistry where some lyotropic metallomesogens are used as templates for mesoporous materials. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.