Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 25, 2026
Author Spotlight: Functionalizing Metal-Organic Frameworks: Advancements, Challenges, and the Power of Post-Synthetic Ligand Exchange
Published on: June 23, 2023
Tuning the Redox Properties of Fullerene Clusters within a Metal-Organic Capsule
Felix J Rizzuto1, Daniel M Wood1, Tanya K Ronson1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge , Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
A porphyrin-edged metal-organic tetrahedron forms host-guest complexes containing 1-4 equiv of fullerene C60, depending on the solvent employed. The molecules of C60 were bound anticooperatively within well-defined pockets; an X-ray crystal structure of three fullerenes inside the tetrahedron was obtained. Electrochemical measurements revealed that the electron-accepting properties of the fullerenes inside the capsules were altered depending on the mode of encapsulation. The binding of multiple fullerenes was observed to increase the electron affinity of the overall cluster, providing a noncovalent method of tuning fullerene electronics.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:58Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...
02:42Valence Bond Theory
02:51Metal-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...
01:23Properties of Organometallic Compounds
03:02Colors and Magnetism
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...