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Updated: Feb 11, 2026

Characterizing Lewis Pairs Using Titration Coupled with In Situ Infrared Spectroscopy
Published on: February 20, 2020
Unprecedented Encapsulation of Carbonyl Guest with Designer Lewis Acid Receptor
Takashi Ooi1, Yuichiro Kondo1, Keiji Maruoka1
1Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810 (Japan), Fax: (+81) 11-746-2557.
Abstract:
A reaction chamber is formed by a cage compound in which a dicarbonyl guest molecule is encapsulated by two bowl-shaped aluminum tris(2,6-diphenylphenoxide) molecules through Lewis acid-base interactions (structure of complex with 1,4-dimethylpiperazine-2,5-dione depicted). The carbonyl compound held inside the molecular capsule is effectively protected against the approach of external nucleophiles. On the other hand, the chamber is large enough to allow Diels-Alder cycloadditions to take place under mild conditions and with high selectivity.
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