 solvent - induced aggregates of nanoring 
 cyclic polymers may be transferred 
 by electrospray deposition to a surface where they adsorb as three - dimensional 
 columnar stacks . 
 the observed stack height varies from single rings 
 to four stacked rings with a layer spacing of 0.32  0.04 nm 
 as measured using scanning tunneling microscopy . 
 the flexibility of 
 the nanorings results in distortions from a circular shape , and we 
 show , through a comparison with monte carlo simulations , that the 
 bending stiffness increases linearly with the stack height . our results 
 show that noncovalent interactions may be used to control the shape 
 and mechanical properties of artificial macromolecular aggregates 
 offering a new route to solvent - induced control of two - dimensional 
 supramolecular organization . 
Supplementary Material