The desire to control rationally, through small-molecule synthesis, the properties of bulk materials has led to supramolecular approaches to, for example, polymers, [1,2] strong and weak organogels, [3] amphiphilic assemblies, [4] and liquid crystals.[5] In these materials, specific and well-defined interactions between molecules contribute to bulk material properties on two levels: structure and dynamics. Although the dynamic nature of the defining interactions is often the attribute that distinguishes supramolecular materials from their covalent counterparts, [6] direct mechanistic studies of the molecular contributions to the dynamic properties of materials are less abundant than structural studies.[7] Herein, we report that a simple structural variation in the networks of supramolecular sols and organogels provides a direct and quantitative measure of the relationship between molecular dynamics and macroscopic rheological properties. The approach is akin to a macromolecular "kinetic isotope effect", in that kinetic contributions to rate-determining processes are revealed by the differences in two isostructural systems. We find that it is the dynamics of molecular crosslinks, much more so than their thermodynamics, which are specifically and quantitatively responsible for the bulk viscoelastic properties of the supramolecular networks.The system under consideration is poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PVP) that is cross-linked by bis(M ii -pincer) compounds 1 (see Figure 2) derived from the work of van Koten [8] (M = Pd or Pt, Figure 1). [9] We recently reported that simple steric effects in the alkylamino ligands of 1 and related compounds change the rate of ligand exchange by approximately two orders of magnitude while leaving the thermodynamics of association effectively constant. [10] This independent control of dynamics is particularly significant; cross-linkers 1 a and 1 b (Figure 2) are structurally identical components within the network, and so their similar thermodynamics ensure that the extent and nature of cross-linking is essentially the same in the samples prepared from them. By extending the family of cross-linkers to the Pt II -pincer molecules 1 c and 1 d (Figure 2) we are able to probe the effect of a wide range of molecular dynamics.The addition of 2 % (by functional group) 1 b to a 100 mg mL À1 DMSO solution of PVP (Aldrich, M r = 60 000) gives rise to a clear, thick, deep yellow solution whose viscosity is approximately 2000-times greater than that of PVP alone (33 Pa s vs. 0.016 Pa s). Two control experiments confirm that the viscosity increase is due to coordinative cross-linking of the PVP by 1 b. First, the viscosity does not increase upon the addition of the same quantity of monomeric À .