Self-Assembly of Discrete Cyclic Nanostructures Mediated by Transition Metals

Fascination with supramolecular chemistry over the last few decades has led to the synthesis of an ever-increasing number of elegant and intricate functional structures with sizes that approach nanoscopic dimensions Today, it has grown into a mature field of modern science whose interfaces with many disciplines have provided invaluable opportunities for crossing boundaries both inside and between the fields of chemistry, physics, and biology This chemistry is of continuing interest for synthetic chemists; partly because of the fascinating physical and chemical properties and the complex and varied aesthetically pleasing structures that supramolecules possess For scientists seeking to design novel molecular materials exhibiting unusual sensing, magnetic, optical, and catalytic properties, and for researchers investigating the structure and function of biomolecules, supramolecular chemistry provides limitless possibilities Thus, it transcends the traditional divisional boundaries of science and represents a highly interdisciplinary field

In the early 1960s, the discovery of ‘crown ethers’, ‘cryptands’ and ‘spherands’ by Pedersen,1 Lehn,2 and Cram3 respectively, led to the realization that small, complementary molecules can be made to recognize each other through non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen-bonding, charge-charge, donor-acceptor, π-π, van der Waals, etc Such ‘programmed’ molecules can thus be self-assembled by utilizing these interactions in a definite algorithm to form large supramolecules that have different physicochemical properties than those of the precursor building blocks Typical systems are designed such that the self-assembly process is kinetically reversible; the individual building blocks gradually funnel towards an ensemble that represents the thermodynamic minimum of the system via numerous association and dissociation steps By tuning various reaction parameters, the reaction equilibrium can be shifted towards the desired product As such, self-assembly has a distinct advantage over traditional, stepwise synthetic approaches when accessing large molecules

It is well known that nature has the ability to assemble relatively simple molecular precursors into extremely complex biomolecules, which are vital for life processes Nature’s building blocks possess specific functionalities in configurations that allow them to interact with one another in a deliberate manner Protein folding, nucleic acid assembly and tertiary structure, phospholipid membranes, ribosomes, microtubules, etc are but a selective, representative example of self-assembly in nature that is of critical importance for living organisms Nature makes use of a variety of weak, non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen–bonding, charge–charge, donor–acceptor, π-π, van der Waals, hydrophilic and hydrophobic, etc interactions to achieve these highly complex and often symmetrical architectures In fact, the existence of life is heavily dependent on these phenomena The aforementioned structures provide inspiration for chemists seeking to exploit the ‘weak interactions’ described above to make scaffolds rivaling the complexity of natural systems

The breadth of supramolecular chemistry has progressively increased with the synthesis of numerous unique supramolecules each year Based on the interactions used in the assembly process, supramolecular chemistry can be broadly classified in to three main branches: i) those that utilize H-bonding motifs in the supramolecular architectures, ii) processes that primarily use other non-covalent interactions such as ion-ion, ion-dipole, π–π stacking, cation-π, van der Waals and hydrophobic interactions, and iii) those that employ strong and directional metal-ligand bonds for the assembly process However, as the scale and degree of complexity of desired molecules increases, the assembly of small molecular units into large, discrete supramolecules becomes an increasingly daunting task This has been due in large part to the inability to completely control the directionality of the weak forces employed in the first two classifications above Coordination-driven self-assembly, which defines the third approach, affords a greater control over the rational design of 2D and 3D architectures by capitalizing on the predictable nature of the metal-ligand coordination sphere and ligand lability to encode directionality Thus, this third strategy represents an alternative route to better execute the “bottom-up” synthetic strategy for designing molecules of desired dimensions, ranging from a few cubic angstroms to over a cubic nanometer For instance, a wide array of 2D systems: rhomboids, squares, rectangles, triangles, etc, and 3D systems: trigonal pyramids, trigonal prisms, cubes, cuboctahedra, double squares, adamantanoids, dodecahedra and a variety of other cages have been reported As in nature, inherent preferences for particular geometries and binding motifs are ‘encoded’ in certain molecules depending on the metals and functional groups present; these moieties help to control the way in which the building blocks assemble into well-defined, discrete supramolecules4

Since the early pioneering work by Lehn5 and Sauvage6 on the feasibility and usefulness of coordination-driven self-assembly in the formation of infinite helicates, grids, ladders, racks, knots, rings, catenanes, rotaxanes and related species,7 several groups - Stang,8 Raymond,9 Fujita,10 Mirkin,11 Cotton12 and others13,14 have independently developed and exploited novel coordination-based paradigms for the self-assembly of discrete metallacycles and metallacages with well-defined shapes and sizes In the last decade, the concepts and perspectives of coordination-driven self-assembly have been delineated and summarized in several insightful reviews covering various aspects of coordinationdriven self-assembly15 In the last decade, the use of this synthetic strategy has led to metallacages dubbed as “molecular flasks” by Fujita,16 and Raymond and Bergman,17 which due to their ability to encapsulate guest molecules, allowed for the observation of unique chemical phenomena and unusual reactions which cannot be achieved in the conventional gas, liquid or solid phases Furthermore, these assemblies found applications in supramolecular catalysis18,19 and as nanomaterials as developed by Hupp20 and others21,22

This review focuses on the journey of early coordination-driven self-assembly paradigms to more complex and discrete 2D and 3D supramolecular ensembles over the last decade We begin with a discussion of various approaches that have been developed by different groups to assemble finite supramolecular architectures The subsequent sections contain detailed discussions on the synthesis of discrete 2D and 3D systems, their functionalizations and applications

Supramolecular coordination: self-assembly of finite two- and three-dimensional ensembles.

Synthetic organic chemists enjoy the luxury of having a large collection of reliable reactions at their disposal for preparing small molecules, mesoscopic structures, and polymers. Coordination chemists, on the other hand, are faced with the fact that transition metal chemistry, when normalized for the number of transition metals, has relatively few high-yielding reactions, when compared to the chemistry of carbon, for preparing even small molecule structures. This lack of control is manifested, in large part, in the weak metal-ligand interactions found in coordination complexes as compared with the strong covalent bonds in organic compounds. Weak bonding often translates into many reaction pathways that are not substantially different from an energetic point of view, and therefore, results in poor selectivity. As a result, many coordination chemists in recent years have come to the realization that it may be easier and more productive to develop straightforward and reliable routes to mesoscopic supramolecular structures by capitalizing on the modest collection of high-yielding reactions in coordination chemistry, the directional bonding afforded by metal centers, and strategies aimed at taking advantage of the weak metal bonds found in coordination complexes. Three emerging synthetic strategies, the symmetry-interaction, directional-bonding, and weak-link synthetic approaches, all use metal centers as structural building blocks to rationally assemble molecular components into supramolecular metallocyclophanes. These three approaches are discussed herein, and the fundamental principles underlying each as well as their capabilities are compared and contrasted.

Strategies for the Construction of Supramolecular Compounds through Coordination Chemistry

Structure and magnetism of coordination polymers containing dicyanamide and tricyanomethanide

Spin-crossover compounds are becoming increasingly popular for device and sensor applications, and in soft materials, that make use of their switchable colour, paramagnetism and conductivity. The de novo design of new solid spin-crossover compounds with pre-defined switching properties is desirable for application purposes. This challenging problem of crystal engineering requires an understanding of how the temperature and cooperativity of a spin-transition are influenced by the structure of the bulk material. Towards that end, this critical review presents a survey of molecular spin-crossover compounds with good availability of crystallographic data. A picture is emerging that changes in molecular shape between the high- and low-spin states, and the ability of a lattice to accommodate such changes, can play an important role in determining the existence and the cooperativity of a thermal spin-transition in the solid state (198 references).

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Structure:function relationships in molecular spin-crossover complexes

Square and Triangular Arrays Based on Mo24+ and Rh24+ Units

The linear trinuclear compound Co3(dpa)4Cl2 (1; dpa = di(2-pyridyl)amide anion) crystallizes from CH2Cl2 solution in two forms simultaneously, namely, an orthorhombic form 1·CH2Cl2 and a tetragonal form 1·2CH2Cl2. The three linearly arranged cobalt atoms in 1 are supported by four dpa ligands in a spiral configuration. The chain of cobalt atoms is symmetrical in 1·CH2Cl2, but unsymmetrical in 1·2CH2Cl2. Both crystal structures have been studied at various temperatures. A reversible second-order phase transition (165 K) from orthorhombic (Pnn2) to monoclinic (Pn) symmetry for the crystal of 1·CH2Cl2 has been documented by X-ray studies at 296, 168, and 109 K as well as a neutron diffraction study at 20 K. The linear tricobalt unit in 1·CH2Cl2 becomes slightly unsymmetrical at low temperature although the two Co−Co bonds remain statistically equivalent (Co−Co ≈ 2.32 A) throughout the experimental temperature range. No phase transition was observed for the tetragonal form 1·2CH2Cl2 at low temperature, but th...

Linear Tricobalt Compounds with Di(2-pyridyl)amide (dpa) Ligands: Temperature Dependence of the Structural and Magnetic Properties of Symmetrical and Unsymmetrical Forms of Co3(dpa)4Cl2 in the Solid State

Twelve compounds containing two quadruply bonded Mo2(DAniF)3 (DAniF = N,N‘-di-p-anisylformamidinate) units linked by dicarboxylate anions have been prepared in high purity and good yields. All of these compounds have been characterized by crystallography and NMR. The dinuclear pairs display electrochemical behavior which is controlled by the nature of the bridging dicarboxylate group. As described by the linkers, the compounds are oxalate, 1; acetylene dicarboxylate, 2; fumarate, 3; tetrafluorophthalate, 4; carborane dicarboxylate, 5; ferrocene dicarboxylate, 6; malonate, 7; succinate, 8; propane-1,3-dicarboxylate, 9; tetrafluorosuccinate, 10; bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane-1,3-dicarboxylate, 11; and trans-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate, 12.

The Simplest Supramolecular Complexes Containing Pairs of Mo2(formamidinate)3 Units Linked with Various Dicarboxylates: Preparative Methods, Structures, and Electrochemistry

Four compounds of the type Co3(dpa)4XYwhere X and Y are Cl or BF4 and dpa is the anion of dipyridylaminehave been prepared and structurally characterized. For X = Y = Cl, two significantly differen...

Symmetrical and Unsymmetrical Compounds Having a Linear Co36+ Chain Ligated by a Spiral Set of Dipyridyl Anions

The title compound, Ni3(dpa)4Cl2 (dpa = di(2-pyridyl)amido anion), first reported 30 years ago, structurally characterized in 1991, has been obtained in two new crystal forms, Ni3(dpa)4Cl2·2CH2Cl2 (tetragonal, space group I4, with a = 27.3046(7) A, c = 12.2452(2) A, Z = 8) and Ni3(dpa)4Cl2·THF (orthorhombic, space group Pccn, with a = 12.673(1) A, b = 14.138(3) A, c = 23.890(2) A, Z = 4). They have been examined structurally, and the magnetic properties of one of them determined from 2 to 300 K. Also the proton NMR spectrum has been recorded. These data allow the following conclusions to be drawn:  (1) the molecular structure is invariant in the three crystalline forms and has a symmetrical chain of nickel atoms, (2) the terminal metal atoms each have two unpaired electrons, while the central one is typical of diamagnetic square-planar NiII complexes, (3) the magnetic moments of the two terminal nickel(II) ions display antiferromagnetic coupling, with 2J = −108 cm-1, and (4) the Ni3 chain remains symmetr...

Carlos A. Murillo

Papers

Square and Triangular Arrays Based on Mo24+ and Rh24+ Units

Linear Tricobalt Compounds with Di(2-pyridyl)amide (dpa) Ligands: Temperature Dependence of the Structural and Magnetic Properties of Symmetrical and Unsymmetrical Forms of Co3(dpa)4Cl2 in the Solid State

The Simplest Supramolecular Complexes Containing Pairs of Mo2(formamidinate)3 Units Linked with Various Dicarboxylates: Preparative Methods, Structures, and Electrochemistry

Symmetrical and Unsymmetrical Compounds Having a Linear Co36+ Chain Ligated by a Spiral Set of Dipyridyl Anions

Further Study of the Linear Trinickel(II) Complex of Dipyridylamide