One of the challenges in making new electronic devices is the chemistry required to assemble the layers that make up the device. In this research, a new synthetic chemistry approach produces ultra-small materials that resemble a fragment of the semiconductor silicon. The process uses a precisely defined pattern of reactive sites, or chemical “hooks.” The hooks control the structure as the material, a polymer, grows. Being able to create small pieces of silicon-like materials may make it easier to manufacture designer electronic circuits with properties tuned for specific uses.