Ultra-large supramolecular coordination cages composed of endohedral Archimedean and Platonic bodies

Kevin Byrne, Muhammad Zubair, Nianyong Zhu, Xiao-Ping Zhou, Daniel S. Fox, Hongzhou Zhang, Brendan Twamley, Matthew J. Lennox, Tina Düren and Wolfgang Schmitt ()
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Kevin Byrne: School of Chemistry, University of Dublin, Trinity College
Muhammad Zubair: School of Chemistry, University of Dublin, Trinity College
Nianyong Zhu: School of Chemistry, University of Dublin, Trinity College
Xiao-Ping Zhou: School of Chemistry, University of Dublin, Trinity College
Daniel S. Fox: CRANN Nanotechnology Institute & AMBER, Centre University of Dublin, Trinity College
Hongzhou Zhang: CRANN Nanotechnology Institute & AMBER, Centre University of Dublin, Trinity College
Brendan Twamley: School of Chemistry, University of Dublin, Trinity College
Matthew J. Lennox: Centre for Advanced Separations Engineering, University of Bath
Tina Düren: Centre for Advanced Separations Engineering, University of Bath
Wolfgang Schmitt: School of Chemistry, University of Dublin, Trinity College

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Pioneered by Lehn, Cram, Peterson and Breslow, supramolecular chemistry concepts have evolved providing fundamental knowledge of the relationships between the structures and reactivities of organized molecules. A particular fascinating class of metallo-supramolecular molecules are hollow coordination cages that provide cavities of molecular dimensions promoting applications in diverse areas including catalysis, enzyme mimetics and material science. Here we report the synthesis of coordination cages with exceptional cross-sectional diameters that are composed of multiple sub-cages providing numerous distinctive binding sites through labile coordination solvent molecules. The building principles, involving Archimedean and Platonic bodies, renders these supramolecular keplerates as a class of cages whose composition and topological aspects compare to characteristics of edge-transitive {Cu2} MOFs with A3X4 stoichiometry. The nature of the cavities in these double-shell metal-organic polyhedra and their inner/outer binding sites provide perspectives for post-synthetic functionalizations, separations and catalysis. Transmission electron microscopy studies demonstrate that single molecules are experimentally accessible.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15268

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