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Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Origami Inspired Self-assembly of Patterned and Reconfigurable Particles
Published on: February 4, 2013
Rigid PN cages as 3-dimensional building blocks for crystalline or amorphous networked materials
Mohsen Shayan1, Maryam F Abdollahi1, Mason Chester Lawrence2
1Chemistry Department, Dalhousie University, 6274 Coburg Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada. saurabh.chitnis@dal.ca.
Abstract:
Three-dimensional covalent connectors are valuable synthons for accessing crystalline or amorphous networks. Currently, fused polycyclic alkanes are employed as connectors in this context. We debut phosphorus-nitrogen (PN) cages as new 3-dimensional (3-D) inorganic connectors that yield crystalline and amorphous networks, including examples with gas porosity. We show that the high tunability of PN cages accelerates network diversification and the presence of a responsive 31P NMR spectroscopic handle provides structural insight. Collectively, this work unlocks a new and convenient 3-D synthon for reticular chemistry.
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