Definition and Emergence of Supramolecular Chemistry*Adapted in part from Supramolecular Chemistry , J. W. Steed and J. L. Atwood, Wiley: Chichester, 2nd Ed., 2009.

Abstract This chapter traces the changing scope in the understanding of supramolecular chemistry and its parallel, convergent evolution with nanoscale technology. Starting with the discovery of clathrate hydrates and zeolites in the beginning of the nineteenth century, key milestones such as the realization of the concepts of receptor, binding' and the lock and key model are charted. We look at the birth of the discipline of supramolecular host–guest from macrocylic chemistry and its evolution via self‐assembly into its modern incarnation in the study of modular, pre programmed, and informed matter. We describe how a chemical and molecular approach is fundamental to the understanding of convergent (equilibrium) self‐assembly, emergent features arising from non‐equilibrium systems and nanoscale chemistry.