Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2025

From Molecules to Materials: Engineering New Ionic Liquid Crystals Through Halogen Bonding
Published on: March 24, 2018
Charge-Assisted Halogen Bonding in an Ionic Cavity of a Coordination Cage Based on a Copper(I) Iodide Cluster
Anssi Peuronen1, Anni I Taponen2, Elina Kalenius2
1Department of Chemistry, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland.
Abstract:
The design of molecular containers capable of selectively binding specific guest molecules presents an interesting synthetic challenge in supramolecular chemistry. Here, we report the synthesis and structure of a coordination cage assembled from Cu3 I4 - clusters and tripodal cationic N-donor ligands. Owing to the localized permanent charges in the ligand core the cage binds iodide anions in specific regions within the cage through ionic interactions. This allows the selective binding of bromomethanes as secondary guest species within the cage promoted by halogen bonding, which was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.
More Related Videos
11:04Ion Mobility-Mass Spectrometry Techniques for Determining the Structure and Mechanisms of Metal Ion Recognition and Redox Activity of Metal Binding Oligopeptides
Published on: September 7, 2019
09:44Design, Synthesis, and Photochemical Properties of Clickable Caged Compounds
Published on: October 15, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Valence Bond Theory
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...
Alkyl Halides
Alkyl halides are halogen-substituted alkanes wherein one or more hydrogen atoms of an alkane is replaced by a halogen atom such as fluorine, chlorine, bromine, or iodine. The carbon atom in an alkyl halide is bonded to the halogen atom, which is sp3-hybridized and exhibits a tetrahedral shape.
Unlike alkyl halides, compounds in which a halogen atom is bonded to an sp2 -hybridized carbon atom of a carbon-carbon double bond (C=C) are called vinyl halides. Whereas aryl...
Crystal 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...
Formation of Complex Ions
Coordination Compounds and Nomenclature