From molecular wires to potential molecular cables

Metal–organic container molecules through subcomponent self-assembly

“…[57][58][59][60][61][62][63] These intricate architectures are prepared from simple building blocks through the formation of dynamic-covalent (CQN) 64,65 and coordinative (N-M) bonds during the same self-assembly process, a procedure that has evolved from the template synthesis of Busch [66][67][68] and was further developed by Hannon et al 69,70 This approach offers several advantages: (i) a large increase in molecular complexity is achieved in a single reaction step; (ii) the structure can be rapidly modified with minimal synthetic effort to optimise a desired property; (iii) assemblies can be postsynthetically modified or transformed into a new structure through imine exchange; (iv) the subcomponents employed are either commercially available or more readily synthetically accessible compared with other multidentate ligands used to construct supramolecular architectures. Pyridyl-imine based ligands have been used by us and other researchers to prepare a wealth of structures including macrocycles, 71 helicates, [72][73][74][75][76][77] rotaxanes, 78 catenanes, 52,79 grids, 80,81 tetrahedra, 40,[58][59][60] cubes, 61 a pentafoil knot 82 and Borromean rings. 83 In this feature article we will focus on the formation of container molecules through subcomponent self-assembly and the varied host-guest chemistry of these systems.…”

1 H NMR Study of the Host-Guest Chemistry in a Supramolecular Helicate Feii 2l3solution

“…[1][2][3] Among this tremendously expanding family, helicate complex is generally regarded as the intermediate product of the steady state of the final thermodynamic product formation. 4 Nevertheless, comparing to the well established building processes of helicate architectures, [5][6][7][8] the non-covalent interactions with guest molecules of these spiral species are less studied due to the limited inner cavity. However, the host still contains potentially active groups such as amino or phenyl groups, which could offer supramolecular interactions, including hydrogen bonding, donor-acceptor interaction or aromatic (π-π) interaction.…”