Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry Uncovers Guest‐Induced Distortions in a Supramolecular Organometallic Metallosquare

Exploring the Gas-Phase Formation and Chemical Reactivity of Highly Reduced M8 L6 Coordination Cages

Coordination cages with well-defined cavities show great promise in the field of catalysis on account of their unique combination of molecular confinement effects and transition-metal redox chemistry. Here, three coordination cages are reduced from their native 16+ oxidation state to the 2+ state in the gas phase without observable structural degradation. Using this method, the reaction rate constants for each reduction step were determined, with no noticeable differences arising following either the incorporation of a C60 -fullerene guest or alteration of the cage chemical structure. The reactivity of highly reduced cage species toward molecular oxygen is "switched-on" after a threshold number of reduction steps, which is influenced by guest molecules and the structure of cage components. These new experimental approaches provide a unique window to explore the chemistry of highly-reduced cage species that can be modulated by altering their structures and encapsulated guest species.

Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Encapsulated within Metallacycles

Mechanically interlocked derivatives of carbon nanotubes (MINTs) are interesting nanotube products since they show high stability without altering the carbon nanotube structure. So far, MINTs have been synthesized using ring-closing metathesis, disulfide exchange reaction, H-bonding or direct threading with macrocycles. Here, we describe the encapsulation of single-walled carbon nanotubes within a palladium-based metallosquare. The formation of MINTs was confirmed by a variety of techniques, including high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. We find the making of these MINTs is remarkably sensitive to structural variations of the metallo-assemblies. When a metallosquare with a cavity of appropriate shape and size is used, the formation of the MINT proceeds successfully by both templated clipping and direct threading. Our studies also show indications on how supramolecular coordination complexes can help expand the potential applications of MINTs.