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Selective construction of molecular Solomon links and figure-eight knots by fine-tuning unsymmetrical ligands

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Abstract

Using the strategy of ligand fine-tuning by steric hindrance, we successfully obtained Solomon links (\(4_1^2\)) and figure-eight knots (41) with half-sandwich organometallic unit and amino-acid embedded ligands. The two curved bidentate ligands exhibit subtle differences, whereas they result in totally distinct entanglement modes. An alcoholysis reaction with the ligands leads to the formation of a molecular tweezer. Notably, unsymmetrical ligands were utilized in the self-assembly process to explore the formation of directional molecules, and the reactions exhibited selectivity due to comprehensive π interactions and multiple hydrogen bonds. The topologies and behavior of the above structures were confirmed through single-crystal X-ray diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance techniques and mass spectrometry.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22031003, 21720102004) and Shanghai Science Technology Committee (19DZ2270100).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Molecular Catalysis and Innovative Materials, Department of Chemistry, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China

    Qiu-Shui Mu, Xiang Gao, Zheng Cui, Yue-Jian Lin & Guo-Xin Jin

  2. State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200032, China

    Guo-Xin Jin

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  1. Qiu-Shui Mu
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  2. Xiang Gao
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  3. Zheng Cui
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  4. Yue-Jian Lin
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Correspondence to Guo-Xin Jin.

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Conflict of interest The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Supporting information The supporting information is available online at http://chem.scichina.com and http://link.springer.com/journal/11426. The supporting materials are published as submitted, without typesetting or editing. The responsibility for scientific accuracy and content remains entirely with the authors.

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Mu, QS., Gao, X., Cui, Z. et al. Selective construction of molecular Solomon links and figure-eight knots by fine-tuning unsymmetrical ligands. Sci. China Chem. 66, 2885–2891 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-023-1675-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11426-023-1675-0

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