Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Synthesis of Information-bearing Peptoids and their Sequence-directed Dynamic Covalent Self-assembly
Published on: February 6, 2020
Dynamic combinatorial donor-acceptor catenanes in water: access to unconventional and unexpected structures
Ho Yu Au-Yeung1, G Dan Pantoş, Jeremy K M Sanders
1University Chemical Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK.
Abstract:
We describe here the assembly of new types of donor-acceptor [2]catenanes from dynamic combinatorial libraries (DCL) in water. These new catenanes contain both the donor and acceptor components in at least one of the interlocked rings, thereby possessing unusual and unexpected DAAD or DADD stacking sequences of the π units in their structures. The efficiency of the catenane assembly process can be enhanced by manipulating the DCL equilibrium in a variety of ways: adding a guest, changing the building block stoichiometries, or increasing the library concentration or the ionic strength of the solvent. The formation of catenanes and their constitutions are found to be dependent on subtle differences in the geometry, dimension, and flexibility of the donor building blocks.
Related Concept Videos
[4+2] Cycloaddition of Conjugated Dienes: Diels–Alder Reaction
Cycloaddition Reactions: Overview
Olefin Metathesis Polymerization: Acyclic Diene Metathesis (ADMET)
Similar to cross-metathesis, ADMET also involves the formation of metallacyclobutane intermediate by [2+2] cycloaddition of one of the double bonds of a terminal diene with...
[3,3] Sigmatropic Rearrangement of 1,5-Dienes: Cope Rearrangement
Diels–Alder Reaction: Characteristics of Dienes
Characteristics of the diene
Conformation
The simplest example of a diene is 1,3-butadiene, an acyclic conjugated π system. At room temperature, the molecule exists as a mixture of s-cis and s-trans conformers by virtue of rotation around the carbon–carbon single bond. Although the s-trans isomer is more stable, the...
Structure of Conjugated Dienes
Conjugated dienes are compounds characterized by the presence of alternating double and single bonds. In a conjugated system like 1,3-butadiene, the unhybridized 2p orbital on each carbon overlaps continuously, allowing the π electrons to be delocalized across the entire molecule. In contrast, this type of overlap does not occur in cumulated and isolated dienes, such as 2,3-pentadiene and 1,4-pentadiene, respectively. Instead, the π electrons remain localized between the double...

