Potential curves illustrating a dissipative self-assembly system and the meaning of away-from-equilibrium

Dissipative self-assembly is a recently proposed concept in the field of non-equilibrium systems. This concept catches the reader’s attention owing to its relationship with life phenomena. Recently, Credi’s group has reported the behavior of a directional supramolecular pump that works under continuous light irradiation with the regime of dissipative self-assembly. Despite their remarkable results, the thermodynamic aspects illustrated in their paper have the potential to mislead readers about the chemistry of non-equilibrium systems.