Out of the supramolecular toolbox, Secondary Bonding Interactions (SBIs) have attracted in the last decades the attention of the chemical community as novel non-covalent interactions of choice for a large number of chemical systems. Amongst all SBIs, halogen-bonding (XBIs) and chalcogen-bonding (EBIs) interactions are certainly the most important. However, the use of EBIs have received marginal consideration if compared to that of XBIs. By sieving the most significant examples, this review focuses on the theoretical and experimental studies carried out with EBIs in functional systems. In a systematic way the reader is guided through the most recent and representative examples in which chemists have rationally designed molecular modules that, through EBIs, trigger the initiation of chemical reactions, molecular recognition events in solutions and at the solid state to produce self-assembled and self-organised functional materials at different length scales. The study and understanding of the fundamental geometrical and physical parameters ruling EBIs is at its infancy, and it still needs to establish those principles to rationally design and program synthons that, undergoing molecular recognition through EBIs, allow the development of new tailored materials for applications in the field of optoelectronic, sensing, catalysis, and drug discovery.

在过去的几十年中，超分子工具箱中的次级键合相互作用（SBI）吸引了化学界的注意，因为它是众多化学系统选择的新型非共价相互作用。在所有SBI中，卤素键（XBI）和硫属元素键（EBI）相互作用无疑是最重要的。但是，与XBI相比，EBI的使用受到了很少的考虑。通过筛选最重要的示例，本文将重点介绍在功能系统中使用EBI进行的理论和实验研究。系统地引导读者阅读最新的代表性例子，其中化学家合理设计了分子模块，这些分子模块通过EBI触发化学反应的引发，溶液和固态中的分子识别事件可产生不同长度尺度的自组装和自组织功能材料。对构成EBI的基本几何和物理参数的研究和理解还处于起步阶段，它仍然需要建立那些原理以合理设计和编程合成子，这些合成子通过EBI进行分子识别，从而允许开发新的量身定制的材料以用于EBI。光电，传感，催化和药物发现领域。