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Radical organometallic nanocages with redox switchable poly-NHC ligands

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Abstract

Developing discrete radical organometallic nanocages is essential for fabricating functional materials. In this study, we construct a series of poly-NHC-based (NHC = N-heterocyclic carbene) organometallic nanocages 3a–3c with different sizes by employing redox-active bis(triarylamine) derivatives with different π-conjugated spacers as building blocks. The varied sizes of nanocages 3a–3c modulate the distance of the redox-active centers and reversibly convert them to radical nanocages 3a2+–3c2+ through chemical and electrochemical oxidation. Radical nanocages 3a2+–3c2+ display clear bond and angle alteration and retention of their three-dimensional topologies. This work not only merely proves that these nanocages are excellent stimulus-responsive materials but also opens a door to the rational design of novel radical organometallic nanocages.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the National Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China (No. 22025107), the National Youth Top-notch Talent Support Program of China, Xi’an Key Laboratory of Functional Supramolecular Structure and Materials, and the FM&EM International Joint Laboratory of Northwest University.

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  1. Guang-Feng Jin and Yan-Zhen Zhang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule of the Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi’an, 710127, China

    Guang-Feng Jin, Yan-Zhen Zhang, Le Yu, Wei-Ling Jiang, Yang Li, Li-Ying Sun & Ying-Feng Han

  2. Department of Chemistry and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China

    Peng Li

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  1. Guang-Feng Jin
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  2. Yan-Zhen Zhang
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  3. Le Yu
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Correspondence to Ying-Feng Han.

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Jin, GF., Zhang, YZ., Yu, L. et al. Radical organometallic nanocages with redox switchable poly-NHC ligands. Nano Res. 16, 10678–10683 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-5690-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-5690-2

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