Supramolecular Architectures Bearing Half-Sandwich Iridium- or Rhodium-Based Carboranes: Design, Synthesis, and Applications

The utilization of carboranes in supramolecular chemistry has attracted considerable attention. The unique spatial configuration and weak interaction forces of carboranes can help to explore the properties of supramolecular complexes, particularly via host-guest chemistry. Additionally, certain difficulties encountered in carborane development─such as controlled B-H bond activation─can be overcome by judiciously selecting metal centers and their adjacent ligands. However, few studies are being conducted in this nascent research area. With advances in this field, novel carborane-based supramolecular complexes will likely be prepared, structurally characterized, and intrinsically investigated. To expedite these efforts, we present major findings from recent studies, including π-π interactions, host-guest associations, and steric effects, which have been leveraged to implement a regioselective process for activating B(2,9)-, B(2,8)-, and B(2,7)-H bonds of para-carboranes and B(4,7)-H bonds of ortho-carboranes. Future studies should clarify the unique weak interactions of carboranes and their potential for enhancing the utility of supramolecular complexes. Although carboranes exhibit several unique weak interactions (such as dihydrogen-bond [Bδ+-Hδ-···Hδ+-Cδ-], Bδ+-Hδ-···M+, and Bδ+-Hδ-···π interactions), the manner in which they can be utilized remains unclear. Supramolecular complexes, particularly those based on host-guest chemistry, can be utilized as a platform for demonstrating potential applications of these weak interactions. Owing to the importance of alkane separation, applications related to the recognition and separation of alkane isomers via dihydrogen-bond interactions are primarily summarized. Advances in the research of unique weak interactions in carboranes will certainly lead to more possibilities for supramolecular chemistry.

Controllable assembly of rectangular macrocycles bearing different numbers of unsaturated sites based on half-sandwich iridium fragments

A series of hexanuclear rectangular macrocycles were designed and synthesized by utilizing multifunctional pyrazine-derived (pyrazine-2,3-diamine (H4L1)) and quinoxaline-derived ligands (2,3-dihydroxy-quinoxaline (H2L2)) featuring two monodentate sites and one pair of chelating sites. X-ray crystallography in combination with 1H NMR spectroscopy elucidated that both half-sandwich iridium diimine and dihydroxy moieties are located on either side of the rectangular macrocycles, making them centrosymmetric. Thereby, the prepared diimine-functionalised complexes were found to have unsaturated metal sites on account of their strongly bound Ir-N-C-C-N arrangement. However, all the iridium atoms in the rectangular macrocycles containing dihydroxy groups were found to adopt an 18-electron coordination configuration, indicating that the O,O'-bonded iridium centers had bound additional ligands, such as Cl-, MeOH, MeCN, etc. Notably, a rare rectangular macrocycle containing a single coordinatively unsaturated metal site was achieved when the ligands H2L12- and L22- were introduced simultaneously.

Palladium-promoted sulfur atom migration on carboranes: facile B(4)−S bond formation from mononuclear Pd-B(4) complexes

For the first time, carborane complexes containing a B(4)–S bond were obtained directly by heating mononuclear Pd-B(4)-bound carborane complexes. A possible mechanism involved in sulfur atom migration is presented in which the leaving group, pyridine, benzyl isocyanide or PPh3, is demonstrated to be the trigger of the reaction process. In this work, efficient routes are developed through one-pot reactions to prepare B(4)-S carborane derivatives.

Self-assembly of a fac-Mn(CO)3-core containing dinuclear metallacycles using flexible ditopic linkers

Flexible dimanganese metallacycles have been achieved using Mn(CO)₅Br and adaptable ditopic pyridyl linkers. The host–guest chemistry of Mn(i)-dinuclear metallacycles has been explored.