PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

One of the basic problems in science is the understanding of the potentialities of material systems, a topic which is of relevance for disciplines ranging from natural philosophy over topology and/or structural chemistry, and biology (morphogenesis) to materials science. Information on this problem can be obtained by studying the different types of linking of basic fragments in self-assembly processes, a type of reaction which has proved to be one of the most important in the biological and material world. The outlined problem can be nicely studied in the case of polyoxometalates with reference to basic organizing principles of material systems like conservative self-organization (self-assembly), host-guest interactions, complementarity, molecular recognition, emergence vs. reduction (as a dialectic unit), template-direction, exchange-interactions and, in general, the mesoscopic material world with its unusual properties as well as its topological and/or structural diversity. Science will lose in significance as an interdisciplinary unit - as outlined or maybe predicted here - should not more importance be attached to general aspects in the future.