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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Self-Assembly of Water-Mediated Supramolecular Cationic Archimedean Solids
Anssi PeuronenManu LahtinenEsa Lehtimäkisubject
Aqueous solutionHydrogen bondChemistryCrystal chemistrySupramolecular chemistryGeneral ChemistryCondensed Matter PhysicsArchimedean solidCrystallographysymbols.namesakeTruncated tetrahedronTetrahedronsymbolsGeneral Materials ScienceSelf-assemblyta116description
Understanding the self-assembly of small structural units into large supramolecular assemblies remains one of the great challenges in structural chemistry. We have discovered that tetrahedral supramolecular cages, exhibiting the shapes of Archimedean solids, can be self-assembled by hydrogen bonding interactions using tricationic N-donors (1 or 2) in cooperation with water (W). Single crystal X-ray analysis shows that cage (2)4(W)6, assembled in an aqueous solution of cation 2 and KPF6, consists of four tripodal trications linked by six water monomers and resembles the shape of a truncated tetrahedron. Similarly, cage (1)4(W6)4 spontaneously self-assembles in an aqueous solution of cation 1 and NH4PF6 and consists of four tripodal cations and four water hexamers. Here, each of the four (H2O)6 units act as tritopic nodes between three distinct tripodal cations forming a polyhedron similar to the cantellated tetrahedron. These two well-defined cages are assembled via total of 12 and 36 hydrogen bonds, respe...
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-09-19 | Crystal Growth & Design |