ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Self-assembly and steric hindrance for further host–guest interactions of a tetrahedral cage Fe^II₄L₄

Ning Bu, Wen-Yuan Wu, Peng Jiang, Zi-Yuan Zhan, Jin-Long Wan, Zi-Jing Wu, and Rong Wan

College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China

E-mail: wwy@njtech.edu.cn

Received: 17 January 2021  Accepted: 27 April 2021

Abstract:

In this paper, a novel complex [Fe^II₄L₄]⁸⁺ was designed and synthesized from subcomponent self-assembly of C₃-symmetric 2,4,6-tris(4-aminophenoxy)triazine, 3-methylpyridine-2-carboxaldehyde and iron(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate in CH₃CN solution. The structure of target compound was confirmed by ¹H NMR and ESI-MS measurements as a tetrahedral cage, and the host–guest interactions between the complex and a series of guest molecules were studied. The results show that the intermolecular interactions are relatively weak by comparison with other similar ligand’s complexes, which may be due to the steric effect of methyl groups adjacent to the peripheral apertures of the cage.

Keywords: Cage complex; Self-assembly; Iron(II); Host–guest interaction

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-021-01685-w

Chemical Papers 75 (9) 4493–4499 (2021)