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A two-dimensional reticular triaxial molecularly woven fabric

Published: 11/04/2026, 12:00 AM

Nature (2026) Cite this article Inspired by macroscopic weaving techniques1,2,3,4, molecular weaving, which interlaces molecular strands into ordered networks, has emerged as a powerful strategy for designing functional materials with emergent properties5,6. However, so far, molecular weaving has relied mainly on linear building blocks and biaxial structures. Higher-order weaving (≥3 axes) of nonlinear building blocks is expected to produce intriguing architectures and bring new and unforeseen functions to the resulting materials; however, their construction and property investigation remain underexplored. Here we report a two-dimensional reticular triaxial woven polymer network constructed by incorporating C3-symmetric macrocycles into the woven structure through dative B–N polymerization. The resulting material not only exhibits unique topological chirality and robust mechanical properties but it also serves as a porous material that permits the separation of representative aromatic/aliphatic compounds. This functional utility highlights how higher-order triaxial woven topologies can provide unique advantages in terms of regulating material properties and introduces an extra topological dimension for the construction of functional materials. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout All data are available in the main text, the Supplementary Information and Supplementary Videos 1–3. CCDC 2323193, 2542942, 2542913, 2542914, 2542917, 2542929, 2542930, 2556073, 2556066, 2556068, 2556075, 2556069, 2560280, 2542947, 2542964, 2556062, 2556063, 2543244, 2543024, 2561235 and 2561236 contain the supplementary crystallographic data for this paper. These data can be obtained free of charge at www.ccdc.cam.ac.uk/data_request/cif. Source data are provided with this paper. Kvavadze, E. et al. 30,000-year-old wild flax fibers. Science 325, 1359 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1175404 (2009). Article PubMed Google Scholar Shi, X. et al. Large-area display textiles integrated with functional systems. Nature 591, 240–245 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03295-8 (2021).