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Updated: Jun 20, 2025

Development of Heterogeneous Enantioselective Catalysts using Chiral Metal-Organic Frameworks MOFs
Published on: January 17, 2020
Selective Formation of Small and Large Coordination Cages and Their Catalytic Differences
Daeun Kim1, Hyo Jeong Back1, Seonghyeon An1
1Department of Chemistry, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea.
Abstract:
Self-assembly of CuX2 (X- = BF4-, ClO4-, and CF3SO3-) with a new tridentate 5,5',5″-(((2,4,6-trimethylbenzene-1,3,5-triyl)tris(methylene))tris(oxy))triisoquinoline (L) gives rise to single-crystal pairs consisting of small and large cages, [X@Cu2X2L4]X and [Cu6X12L8], respectively, via selection of solvents. In particular, the large cage is transformed into a small cage in acetonitrile above 50 °C. A significant difference in heterogeneous catechol oxidation catalysis between the small and large cages is observed. Such notable catechol-oxidation-catalytic effects can be explained by maintenance of the Cu···Cu distance at the catalytic center. This research is a direct systematic example of both cage-size control via solvent selection and the significance of the Cu···Cu distance in catechol oxidation catalysis with copper (Cu).
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