Description:In recent years, intelligent materials, which due to their molecular basis respond to external signals by a distinct reaction to the outside world, have seen an enormous progress. The stimuli which can trigger a response of such smart materials in nanoscale to macroscopic dimensions reach from electrical and magnetic input over effects of temperature and light, to selective molecular recognition of effector compounds. At the same time, chemists have recently designed elaborate supramolecular complexes, which can function as molecular machines. This new book provides an authoritative introduction to the most recent developments of intelligent materials which are accessible by bottom-down engineering and bottom-up chemical approaches. The book highlights possible applications, reaching from sensors to new technologies in information processing, environmental control and in medicine.