Four-component [3]catenanes using three distinct noncovalent interactions

27 Nov 2012

This Communication is HOT as recommended by the referees, and is free to access for 4 weeks

Chemists from University of Cambridge, UK, have constructed a new class of multicomponent [2] and [3]catenanes utilizing up to four building blocks and three orthogonal interactions.

A major challenge in supramolecular chemistry is being able to harness several orthogonal weak interactions to generate structures with a similar complexity and functionality to those found in nature. This is because, as the variety of the building blocks and noncovalent interactions involved, control over the final structure becomes exponentially more difficult.

In this HOT Communication Miguel Á. Alemán García and Nick Bampos report a one-pot synthesis which uses multiple supramolecular components with distinctly different sets of noncovalent interactions to construct heteroleptic interlocked supramolecular metallomacrocycles.