Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 1, 2026

Synthesis of Information-bearing Peptoids and their Sequence-directed Dynamic Covalent Self-assembly
Published on: February 6, 2020
High-Fidelity, Narcissistic Self-Sorting in the Synthesis of Organometallic Assemblies from Poly-NHC Ligands
Narayan Sinha1, Tristan T Y Tan1, Eduardo Peris2
1Institut für Anorganische und Analytische Chemie and NRW Graduate School of Chemistry, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Corrensstrasse 30, 48149, Münster, Germany.
Abstract:
Highly selective, narcissistic self-sorting has been observed in the one-pot synthesis of three organometallic molecular cylinders of type [M3 {L-(NHC)3 }2 ](PF6 )3 (M=Ag+ , Au+ ; L=1,3,5-benzene, triphenylamine, or 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene) from L-(NHC)3 and silver(I) or gold(I) ions. The molecular cylinders contain only one type of tris-NHC ligand with no crossover products detectable. Transmetalation of the tris-NHC ligands from Ag+ to Au+ in a one-pot reaction with retention of the supramolecular structures is also demonstrated. High-fidelity self-sorting was also observed in the one-pot reaction of benzene-bridged tris-NHC and tetrakis-NHC ligands with Ag2 O. This study for the first time extends narcissistic self-sorting in metal-ligand interactions from Werner-type complexes to organometallic derivatives.
Related Concept Videos
Properties of Organometallic Compounds
Polymer Classification: Stereospecificity
Reduction of Alkenes: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydrogenation
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Structural Isomerism
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula. Structural isomerism of coordination compounds can be divided into two subcategories, the linkage isomers and coordination-sphere isomers.
Linkage isomers occur when the coordination compound contains a ligand that can bind to the transition metal center through two different atoms. For example, the CN− ligand can bind through the carbon atom or through the nitrogen atom. Similarly, SCN− can...

