Emerging Spacers-Based Ligands for Supramolecular Coordination Complexes.

Area of Science:

• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Coordination Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Supramolecular coordination complexes (SCCs) are discrete cyclic metalloarchitectures.
• Applications include molecular sensors, cargo, recognition, and catalysis.
• Functionality is introduced via organic motifs and metal complexes as spacers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review newly evolving spacer-based ligands for metallosupramolecular assemblies.
• To focus on straightforward approaches for creating these structures.
• To discuss how spacers impart properties and functionalities.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent literature on spacer-based ligands.
• Analysis of ligand structures and their impact on SCC formation.
• Discussion of assembly approaches and resulting properties.

Main Results:

• Identification of diverse new spacers: corannulene, cyclic frameworks, bicyclic motifs, aliphatic chains, metalloligands, triarylboron, BODIPY, azaphosphatrane, phosphines, and thio/selenophosphates.
• Demonstration of how these spacers yield simple to high-order SCCs.
• Highlighting the in-built functionalities and properties conferred by these spacers.

Conclusions:

• Spacer-based ligands are crucial for designing functional SCCs.
• New spacers offer versatile properties and straightforward assembly routes.
• This approach advances applications in sensing, catalysis, and molecular recognition.