Functional macromolecular systems: kinetic pathways to obtain tailored structures

In memoriam Prof. Hans-Joachim Cantow

This article aims to stimulate research on non-equilibrium macromolecular systems, as nowadays a large toolbox to synthesize tailored macromolecules is available. A large variety of characterization methods covering a broad spectrum of length and timescales allows researchers to follow and also manipulate macromolecular systems on their paths toward equilibrium. These possibilities are aralleled by the development of new concepts of the statistical physics of non-equilibrium phenomena in macromolecular systems as well as new models and algorithms for computer simulation.