Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Valence Bond Theory

Valence Bond Theory

Coordination compounds and complexes exhibit different colors, geometries, and magnetic behavior, depending on the metal atom/ion and ligands from which they are composed. In an attempt to explain the bonding and structure of coordination complexes, Linus Pauling proposed the valence bond theory, or VBT, using the concepts of hybridization and the overlapping of the atomic orbitals. According to VBT, the central metal atom or ion (Lewis acid) hybridizes to provide empty orbitals of suitable...

Colors and Magnetism

Colors and Magnetism

Color in Coordination Complexes
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human eye.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Sequence-Dependent Folding of Recognition-Encoded Melamine Oligomers.

Journal of the American Chemical Society·2026

Same author

Getting on your last nerve: IFNs and resistance to infection.

Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)·2026

Same author

A parasite partner for regulatory affairs.

Science immunology·2026

Same author

Spatial atlas of diabetic kidney disease reveals a B cell-rich subgroup.

Nature·2026

Same author

The role of integrins in T cell-mediated resistance to <i>Cryptosporidium parvum</i>.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Negative cooperativity in the formation of two H-bonds with an oxygen H-bond acceptor.

Chemical science·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 25, 2026

Paramagnetic Relaxation Enhancement for Detecting and Characterizing Self-Associations of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins

Paramagnetic Relaxation Enhancement for Detecting and Characterizing Self-Associations of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins

Published on: September 23, 2021

Selective guest recognition by a self-assembled paramagnetic cage complex.

Simon Turega¹, Martina Whitehead, Benjamin R Hall

¹Department of Chemistry, University of Sheffield, S3 7HF, UK.

Chemical Communications (Cambridge, England)

|January 19, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

A novel cubic cage complex selectively binds coumarin molecules using cobalt(II) ions and bis-bidentate ligands. Its unique structure acts as a kinetic trap, enabling detailed analysis via paramagnetic nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR).

More Related Videos

Spatiotemporally Controlled Nuclear Translocation of Guests in Living Cells Using Caged Molecular Glues as Photoactivatable Tags

Spatiotemporally Controlled Nuclear Translocation of Guests in Living Cells Using Caged Molecular Glues as Photoactivatable Tags

Published on: January 17, 2019

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water

Published on: August 2, 2012

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 25, 2026

Paramagnetic Relaxation Enhancement for Detecting and Characterizing Self-Associations of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins

Paramagnetic Relaxation Enhancement for Detecting and Characterizing Self-Associations of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins

Published on: September 23, 2021

Spatiotemporally Controlled Nuclear Translocation of Guests in Living Cells Using Caged Molecular Glues as Photoactivatable Tags

Spatiotemporally Controlled Nuclear Translocation of Guests in Living Cells Using Caged Molecular Glues as Photoactivatable Tags

Published on: January 17, 2019

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water

Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water

Published on: August 2, 2012

Area of Science:

Coordination Chemistry
Supramolecular Chemistry
Host-Guest Chemistry

Background:

Metal-organic cage complexes offer tunable cavities for molecular recognition.
Selective guest binding is crucial for applications in sensing and separation.
Cobalt(II) complexes can exhibit useful paramagnetic properties for analytical techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

To synthesize and characterize a novel cubic cage complex.
To investigate the selective recognition and binding of coumarin guests.
To explore the utility of cage paramagnetism in analytical studies.

Main Methods:

Self-assembly of a cubic cage from bis-bidentate ligands and Co(II) ions.
Solution-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.
Analysis of guest exchange kinetics and binding selectivity.

Main Results:

A stable cubic cage complex incorporating eight Co(II) ions and twelve ligands was successfully assembled.
The cage cavity demonstrated selective recognition and binding of coumarin in acetonitrile.
The cage's portal size allowed for guest exchange while providing a kinetic barrier.
Paramagnetic NMR spectroscopy facilitated detailed structural and binding analysis.

Conclusions:

The developed cubic cage complex exhibits selective host-guest properties for coumarin.
The kinetic trapping mechanism and paramagnetic NMR analysis offer a robust platform for studying molecular recognition events.
This work contributes to the design of advanced supramolecular systems for selective guest binding.