Organic synthesis enables the precise generation of functional molecular building blocks and constitutes the basis of chemical approaches that our group is developing to address various aspects of materials science. We are convinced that the design of custom-tailored molecular nano-objects and their integration into functional nanosized structures will be key to the future bottom-up fabrication of miniaturized devices and the creation of new responsive “smart” materials. Our work is primarily focused on the synthesis of (macro)molecules with defined shape and function. Complementing our synthetic efforts, we investigate structure-property relationships of the resulting materials on both the single molecule and the ensemble levels in solution and in the bulk as well as at interfaces.