Storage of methane and freon by interstitial van der Waals confinement

Porous organic cage nanocrystals by solution mixing

We present here a simple method for the bottom-up fabrication of microporous organic particles with surface areas in the range 500-1000 m(2) g(-1). The method involves chiral recognition between prefabricated, intrinsically porous organic cage molecules that precipitate spontaneously upon mixing in solution. Fine control over particle size from 50 nm to 1 μm can be achieved by varying the mixing temperature or the rate of mixing. No surfactants or templates are required, and the resulting organic dispersions are stable for months. In this method, the covalent synthesis of the cage modules can be separated from their solution processing into particles because the modules can be dissolved in common solvents. This allows a "mix and match" approach to porous organic particles. The marked solubility change that occurs upon mixing cages with opposite chirality is rationalized by density functional theory calculations that suggest favorable intermolecular interactions for heterochiral cage pairings. The important contribution of molecular disorder to porosity and surface area is highlighted. In one case, a purposefully amorphized sample has more than twice the surface area of its crystalline analogue.

Multifunctional water-soluble molecular capsules based on p-phosphonic acid calix[5]arene

p-Phosphonic acid calix[5]arene forms molecular capsules in water based on two of the molecules, which can be loaded with carboplatin using intense shearing, and attached to single wall carbon nano-tubes. Spin coating of the capsules onto a substrate affords 2 nm fibres of stacked calixarenes, with the self-assembly understood using molecular modelling.

Encapsulation, storage and controlled release of sulfur hexafluoride from a metal-organic capsule

A metal-organic cage is shown to bind SF(6)--the most potent greenhouse gas known--and to release it under well-defined conditions.

Layered Calcium Structures of p-Phosphonic Acid O-Methyl-Calix[6]arene

Hexamethoxy-calix[6]arene has been fully functionalized with p-phosphonic acid groups on the upper rim in 57% yield over three steps, and has been authenticated in the solid state by X-ray diffraction as either a nitrate salt or one of two calcium complexes. The latter differ by the ratio of calcium ions per calixarene, either 3:1 or 4:1. In both structures the coordination sphere of the calcium ions is made up of oxygen atoms from the phosphonic acid groups and from water of crystallization, as part of extended polymeric layers in the extended 3D packing. Hirshfeld surface analysis shows extensive O...H and O...Ca interactions for the phosphonic acid moieties in both calcium structures. MALDI-TOF MS of the hexaphosphonic acid shows nano-arrays consisting of up to a maximum of 28 calixarene units.

Encapsulation of small gas molecules by cryptophane-111 in organic solution. 1. Size- and shape-selective complexation of simple hydrocarbons

The reversible trapping of small hydrocarbons and other gases by cryptophane-111 (1) in organic solution was characterized with variable-temperature (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Characteristic spectral changes observed upon guest binding allowed kinetic and thermodynamic data to be readily extracted, permitting quantification and comparison of different host-guest interactions. Previous work (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 10332) demonstrated that 1, the smallest cryptophane to date, forms a complex with xenon with remarkably high affinity. Presently, it is shown that 1 also exhibits slow exchange dynamics with methane at reduced temperatures (delta(bound) = -5.2 ppm) with an association constant K(a) = 148 M(-1) at 298 K. In contrast, ethane and ethylene are poorly recognized by 1 with K(a) values of only 2 M(-1) and 22 M(-1), respectively; moreover, chloromethane (whose molecular volume is similar to that of xenon, approximately 42 A(3)) is not observed to bind to 1. Separately, molecular hydrogen (H(2)) gas is observed to bind 1, but in contrast to other ligands presently studied, H(2) complexation is spectrally manifested by fast exchange throughout virtually the entire range of available conditions, as well as by a complex dependence of the guest (1)H resonance frequency upon temperature and host concentration. Taken together, these results establish 1 as a selective host for small gases, with implications for the design of size- and geometry-selective sensors targeted for various gas molecules.

Design and synthesis of a stable supramolecular trigonal prism formed by the self-assembly of a linear tetrakis(Zn2+-cyclen) complex and trianionic trithiocyanuric acid in aqueous solution and its complexation with DNA (cyclen = 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane)

A new supramolecular complex, {(Zn(4)L(4))(3)-(TCA(3-))(4)}(12+), was designed and synthesized by the 3:4 self-assembly of a linear tetrakis(Zn(2+)-cyclen) complex (Zn(4)L(4))(8+) and trianionic trithiocyanurate (TCA(3-)) in aqueous solution (cyclen = 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane). The {(Zn(4)L(4))(3)-(TCA(3-))(4)}(12+) complex, which should have a trigonal prism configuration, was found to be very stable in aqueous solution at neutral pH and 25 degrees C, as evidenced by (1)H NMR titration, potentiometric pH and UV titrations, and MS measurements. The complex does not dissociate into the starting building blocks in the presence of Zn(2+)-binding anions such as phosphates and double-stranded DNA. The results of the competitive binding assays with ethidium bromide and calf-thymus DNA, thermal melting experiments, gel mobility shift assays, and dynamic light-scattering data strongly indicated that the trigonal prism functions as a polycationic template to induce the aggregation of double-stranded DNA.